Breaking Down Barriers
by Proudofyoubabe
Summary: This story is the third installment in my Dancing Outside the Lines series. Six months since Steph and Maryanne captured Briggs Tank received a death threat via Rangeman's intranet. Kraven is still on the loose but hasn't made any additional attempts to get to Stephanie or Hector…until now. Established Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

_**Breaking Down Barriers**_

This story takes place after _Gaining Forward Momentum_ and is the third installment in my _Dancing Outside the Lines_ series. Six months have passed since Steph and Maryanne captured Briggs. Now Tank's received a death threat via Rangeman's intranet and everyone is taking it seriously. Kraven, the sadist who collects midieval torture devices, is still on the loose but hasn't made any additional attempts to get to Stephanie or Hector…until now.

I want to thank Margaret for agreeing to be my beta once more. Thanks Margaret, big hug.

**Chapter 1 — Tank as the Target**

_**Stephanie's POV**_

I knew something was up. We were driving back from a successful meeting at Campbell's Soup when Lula's phone rang. I could tell from the ringtone that it was Tank. He rarely calls her during the day and I gathered from her end of the conversation that he wanted her to come home.

Hector was driving, so when she asked him to take her to the house she and Tank shared in Hamilton instead of back to Rangeman, my suspicions were confirmed.

"Nooner?" Hector joked.

"Tankie didn't tell me much 'cept we're going on another vacation."

I immediately dug my phone out of my bag and called Carlos.

"Where are you?" I asked in lieu of hello.

"I'm at my desk. Where are you?"

"We're taking Lula _home_. Anything you need to tell me?"

"Tank needs to feel some sand under his feet."

"Bullshit. They just got back from a long weekend in Costa Rica. What's going on?"

"Come back to Rangeman and we'll talk." Code for 'you're not on a secure line'.

I pitched my phone back into my bag. Something was up. "Carlos isn't talking either," I said to the car.

"Well if it was Kraven, _you'd_ be getting the call, so my guess is it's one a Tankie's enemies. I'll take my laptop and I can work from wherever we end up," Lula said as we pulled into a spot in front of her house.

Tank was at the door with Applepuff, his giant Maine coon cat and they came out to greet us when he caught sight of our SUV.

"Lula baby, how did your meeting go?" Tank asked, releasing Applepuff, opening the door for Lula and pulling her into his arms.

They were almost as bad as Carlos and I, so when they broke from their kiss I pounced with my questions.

"What's going on? Is Lula in any danger?"

"Ranger can give you all the details, but let's just say I need to take a little vacation. And I think we'll be fine once we get out of the country. Rangeman is on it."

Tank turned his attention back to Lula, "Let's go inside baby. I'll tell you what I know and you can start to pack."

Lula looked back to the car for a second. "Don't know how long we'll be away, but I'll try to keep in touch. Email me with any new jobs," and with that she was gone.

Once Lula and Tank disappeared into the house, I turned to Hector, "Tell me with a straight face that you don't know what's going on."

The Rangemen had a unity, if one of the key team knew something, they all did. And Hector was as close to the core as you could get without actually being in the core. I knew he knew something.

"Chica, I was in the meeting with you. I not know anyting more. Here take my phone, check my messages. Then you and I find out at the same time."

I took the phone he offered me and I saw he had three recent calls.

"You want me to play your voice-messages on speaker?"

"Sí. My code for _today_ is 3114."

Hector was giving me his security code. I punched in the number and saw that of the three recent calls only one caller left a message. I played the message. It was from Carlos.

Unfortunately it was in Spanish.

I didn't understand very much, but I could tell by the expression on Hector's face that it wasn't good.

"Spill," I said once the call ended and I handed him back his phone.

"Tank's life is being threatened and someone was able to break through our secure lines at Rangeman to tell him he's going to die."

"Phone lines?" Hector shook his head no.

"Internet? That's your domain, how could anyone break in?"

"_Intra_net actually. The area where we talk to one another. Highly secure. Four levels of password protection. Almost impossible to get into. We need to head back and I need to follow the break-in back to its source.

"And one other thing," he added as if on second thought, "Ranger received a package in the mail today from Kraven."

Shit.

It took us about ten minutes to get back to Haywood. Hector drove as if his life depended on it. Come to think of it, it probably did. He was our tech guy and if someone got through his crazy, convoluted firewalls, he needed to figure out how. And why.

The first person I saw when we exited the elevator on five was Lester. He didn't see me, but I saw the look on his face. Pissed. Angry. Ready for revenge. I wondered which scenario clouded his normally happy-go-lucky expression. Or maybe it was a combination of the two.

"Les," I called out to him. His expression changed.

"Beautiful. I was just thinking about you."

Kraven.

_**Ranger's POV**_

I try not to lie to my woman but sometimes I need to stretch the truth with her. Kraven is a dangerous son of a bitch who is on a mission to kill Stephanie. I needed her some place safe while we located and subsequently took him out. It could take days, or it could take weeks. Right now I was giving it days because that's all I knew Steph could handle.

Lula and Tank would be packing for an impromptu trip to the Canary Islands and we'd made Hector an offer of a safe house in northern Spain.

Someone needed to be at the helm in Trenton and with Tank taking himself out of the picture and Bobby running the day-to-day, I volunteered. Our house in Belmar has everything I need to run the business and could be made as safe as Ft. Knox. It was getting to and from the house that carried a bit of uncertainty. I'd already requested one of our para-aramid reinforced Hummers and it would be sitting in one of my spots in the garage when we were ready to leave.

I could be packed and out the door in a matter of minutes, but I knew Steph was less decisive than me and it would take her longer. My goal was to be on the road before rush hour. I'd already called Philipe and he was readying the house for us. We hadn't been out there much during the winter because Steph associates the beach with nice weather and being stuck inside isn't good for her psyche.

I on the other hand, know what is and it's my intention to spend the weekend showing her just how much I love her. Hopefully that will distract her from thinking about the maniac who hopes to bleed her out with 16th century technology.

And I knew something else that she hadn't been made her privy to yet — right now we were under electronic siege and there was no doubt in my mind that it could escalate into something else shortly. And that was the main reason for Tank and Lula's sudden vacation plans. Someone was trying to get to Tank. Although not often is someone stupid enough to try to make him a target. He might be big but he can certainly be an invisible death machine when necessary. I should know; it's the reason he's my #2 and has had my back for years.

_**Steph**__**'**__**s POV**_

Almost six months__had passed without a peep from Kraven. During that time, we'd gotten bits and pieces on his whereabouts and heard about some auctions he'd attended around the country. Rangeman had gotten tips about many of his purchases and we knew he planned to piece together a new 'house of pain'.

It also took a good part of those six months to build up Lula's self-confidence again. Tank worked with her on a daily basis in Biloxi and she spent some time in therapy when they got back to Jersey. I was afraid that the circumstances surrounding Briggs' takedown had broken her spirit. And I was also afraid that they'd destroyed our friendship. But now she was back. One hundred pounds lighter but with the same sass as before. Thank God.

The news I heard from Hector was the first thing in a long time to rattle _my _confidence. After not hearing from Kraven for so long, I figured he'd given up on me. Looks like I figured wrong and Les' expression said more than I really cared to know right now. I couldn't imagine what Carlos had received from Kraven, but I knew I was about to find out. Les took me by the arm as the three of us made our way towards Carlos' office.

"Babe."

Carlos' one-word sentences can mean a lot depending on how they're delivered. This time it said: 'Let me hold you before I tell you anything'. And that's exactly what he did. He got up from his chair and met me mid-way between his desk and the door.

Carlos didn't want to share at first, but he'd gotten a letter in the mail this morning. Well, let me take that back. It wasn't a letter actually, but rather pictures in an envelope with writing on each one. Writing explaining what Kraven planned to do to me...and Hector.

My head had been Photoshopped onto a naked female body that was bleeding out from every orifice you could think of. Yeah, it wasn't pretty. I kind of wondered which antique torture device could deliver those kind of results. Probably a few minutes with several different ones. And I hoped the woman in the pictures, sans my head, wasn't a real person at all. And if she was, what happened to her? Or her body? Yeah, they were those kind of pictures.

Hector, on the other hand, made light of it all. He said the male body that had his face super-imposed over it bore no resemblance to him and no one would be able to get to him or I anyway.

Carlos wasn't as optimistic as Hector.

The news upset me, so after pretending to not care and putting on a good face in front of Carlos, Hector and Les I made my way to my recently converted office. I googled-searched the names of the devices we'd learned Kraven had acquired and was studying them intently when Carlos walked in.

"Babe?"

"I'm not staying in hiding Carlos and I need to know just what he has. And what it can do to me."

"I'm not asking you to stay inside Babe, but I'd like at least one team on you and Hector when you travel back and forth between your meetings. He got to you in a public parking garage before, and I'll do all I can to make sure he never has another opportunity.

"We think we have a bead on his whereabouts and Erik and Eugene are heading to Bergen County tonight to check out some places. I asked for a listing of recently purchased warehouse space and a number seem it fit the bill. Why don't we go out to our house for a few days and let the guys see what they can come up with?"

"I know what your doing?"

"What am I doing?"

"We'll go to the shore for a few days and then you'll convince me to stay there until you nab Kraven. I have a job to do and clients to deal with. I just can't take off for a month when the whim strikes. You can work from the house, but my job is to make our clients feel all warm and fuzzy like we give each one our undivided attention. And I can't do that if I can't see them in person.

"And you know what else? Next you'll be telling me that Hector's taking a leave..."

"Babe. I appreciate everything the three of you have done for the business and I'd never keep you apart from something you love, but humor me here. It's just for the long weekend."

"Long weekend, like how long? Today is Thursday. Are we talking Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Or are we talking Monday too? I need to know before I agree to this. I'll have to move around meetings and co-ordinate with Hector and..."

"Babe, one step at a time. Tonight through Sunday for starters. Please. For me?"

He had to use the 'please' word. I was just getting started. I don't know why I do that sometimes. I think it's easier to just keep on going then to take a deep breath and listen to what he really has to say. He only has my best interests at heart.

"Ok. We come back Sunday. I could use a little beach air anyway. No guards ok? Just me and you."

"Ram and Cal can stay in the apartment, they won't bother us unless we need them. Babe this is a matter of your safety. We don't know that he hasn't followed you out to our house before. He's been quiet for the last few months. He may have been fact-finding..."

"Ok, ok. I give. Jeez. You drive a hard bargain."

_**Ranger's POV**_

I was packed and ready to leave and wondering what was taking Stephanie so long. I walked back to the closet and found her sitting on the floor surrounded by a pile of shoes.

"Babe?"

"Carlos, I can't find my other sneaker," she said, holding one up to show me what it looked like. I immediately did a 360 from my vantage point and spied the missing shoe. I bent down, picked it up and handed it to her.

"Maybe you should work with Ella to come up with a better way to store your footware; this doesn't seem to be working."

"I had them all paired off and neatly lined up; I don't know what happened."

I did.

My fiancé can only be neat for so long. We were probably going out and she tried on multiple pair for the right look. It was just easier to kick them aside than it was to line them up again. I'd ask Ella for some ideas.

I helped her put all the things she'd arranged on the bed into a suitcase and took both bags while Stephanie said goodbye to Rex and closed up the apartment. Ella would take care of the rodent while we were away.

I don't particularly like driving the Hummer, but better safe than sorry so I fobbed open the big car and put our bags in the back. Then I helped Stephanie into the front seat. Once I was assured she was buckled in, my hand lingered on her waist. Then I moved it to her face and I kissed her before closing the door. Whoever had monitor duty was probably passing that video around right now. I didn't care anymore. I'd lost interest in my men catching us kissing. Stephanie was my woman and if they weren't adult enough to accept that we had a very healthy sexual relationship, they really needed to grow up.

I walked around to the driver's side of the car, got in and was in my zone once we exited Rangeman.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Breaking Down Barriers**_

Thank you for all the encouragement. If I didn't thank you personally, I will. I also want to thank Margaret for agreeing to be my beta once more. And I want to thank JE for creating the characters for us to play with :)

This chapter contains the slightest bit of smut. Nothing too bad :)

**Chapter 2 ****— ****Three Strikes and You****'****re Out**

_**Hector's POV**_

Of course I turned down the safe house. Didn't they know me better? There was was no way I was heading to Spain when opening day at Citi Field was four days away. Despite all odds, I was a tried and true Met fan. I'd wear my cap low and brave the crowds, but I was going. No way would I give up my $259 seat. Yeah, I've heard it all. 'I was a traitor', - the 'Phillies were right around the corner' and '_everyone_ is a Yankee fan'. Well, everyone but me. Uh uh. Nope. I wasn't going anywhere.

My phone rang _again_. I looked at the caller ID. First it was Tank, then it was Ranger and now? Hell, it was _Brown_. Bobby usually _goes_ with me to see the Mets, why would he even think to call? I picked up.

"Yo."

"What do you think you're doing? You've got a mad man who wants to cut off your balls and feed them to you and you're braving crowds and photo ops with those conspicuous seats of yours. Are you insane?"

"Sí. And _you_ know better than to ask. Don't you have tickets too?"

"I don't have a deranged person after me. And my seats won't be sure to be televised."

"Tank ask you to call?"

"Stephanie. Listen I can't make you leave the country but can you at least rethink being so public on Monday?"

"No. And you of all people know better than to even ask. I stay at Rangeman. I do my job. I find who hacked in and I go to the Mets' game. This is who I am. This is what I do."

"Ok man. Sorry to even bring it up but at least drive there with me and Ashley. We'll take a Hummer."

"I tink about it."

I was busy tracing the electronic footprint back to its source and talking to Bobby at the same time. Something about this path seemed familiar. I think I've followed these exact same coordinates before.

"Shit," I said out loud.

"What is it?" Bobby asked from the other end of my cell, which I'd put down and on speaker.

"I tink I got something and you won't be happy."

"Want me to get Santos and stop by?"

"I tink we need to call Ranger, but yeah come over and help me retrace this again. If I get same coordinates a second time, we're fucked."

The coordinates I picked up originated in Langley, Virginia. And every crime fiction reader knows whose offices are located there. The freaking FBI. Was this a 'Briggs' all over again? Was Tank getting death threats from someone _within_ the Bureau? Yeah we'd worked with them last year when we joined forces to get to Briggs, but I doubted that Tank pissed anyone off to that extent. We could always call David White to see what he could find out, but before I did anything, I was going to ask Santos and Bobby to run the path again. Something could have gotten fucked up...but I seriously doubted it.

There was a knock on the door to my lab. I assumed it was Bobby or Les but one can never be too sure, so I checked the camera feed for this hallway. It was Les so I got up and unlocked the door to let him in.

"Now you're locking doors Santiago?"

"Top secret shit. I can't have just _anyone_ poking around."

Another knock. Les opened the door for Bobby. I showed them what I had and where to start. I asked them to repeat the process and let me know what they came up with while I contemplated the next move.

I knew Ranger would want to know immediately, especially with Tank getting ready to leave the country, but I didn't want to worry him unless I had to. It would take Bobby and Les about twenty minutes to get coordinates on the origination of our security compromise. While they worked I had to do something so I called Alex.

Alex Dasilva was a recent hire for our data security division and an all-around good guy. He went with us to Campbell's Soup when we pitched and won the business and was almost as good a hacker as I was. And he'd recently moved in to our last remaining apartment on four.

"Alex, Hec. You up? Can I get your help on someting?"

He didn't even ask what. "Be right down."

"Alex is joining us too," I said to Les and Bobby as I went to the door to wait for his arrival. My tech lab is small and it was going to be tight in there with the four of us, but it was close to eleven and in between shifts so I could probably leave the door open for some air.

I saw Alex coming through the stairway door, buttoning his shirt as he walked. I really hoped I didn't wake him up. I walked towards him and motioned us into Bobby's infirmary next door so I could get him up to speed and not disturb Bobby and Les' train of thought.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

We left for our house in Belmar around four. I knew Carlos had been out a few times over the winter to check on things, but this was going to be _my_ first time since my birthday in October. The house held fond memories for me. Me and Carlos having sex in the hot tub. Me and a Carlos going at it on one of the Adirondack chairs. Me and Carlos doing it on pillows on the living room floor. Me and Carlos...yeah, lots of good memories.

"Babe? You ok?" Carlos asked taking me out of my little trip down memory lane.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about the house."

"You sure? That smile on your face tells me you were thinking about something else. Probably something involving the two of us and a bed."

I was caught. "Um."

"Well you won't have to rely on your memory, we should be there in twenty minutes and in just about twenty-five I hope to have you naked and arching for me."

"Carlos!"

"All true Babe," he said, placing his hand lovingly on my thigh as he drove. I reached over and stroked his hand. I would have stroked something else, but at seventy miles an hour I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea.

When we arrived at the house Carlos parked in the circular driveway in front but made no effort to get out of the Hummer. Instead he pulled me over the console and kissed me.

"Are you ready for a weekend of debauchery?"

"Mmmm Carlos. Let's go inside. In fact let's head straight for the bedroom."

It didn't take him but a nanosecond to respond. He was out the driver's door and in front of mine. He opened it, pulled me into his arms and carried me to the house, barely pausing to kick the car door closed. Once he fobbed us in my clothes started disappearing and their trail, like breadcrumbs, led from the foyer to our bedroom.

"Relax Babe," he said, sensing my tenseness while trailing a series of kisses along my neck and down my shoulders. "Let's go out to the hot tub so I can take your mind off all the demons."

I knew he would too, so after he kissed my breasts and teased a nipple with his mouth I let him help me into a terry robe and lead me out back. Obviously he'd told Philipe to check the temperature and chemical levels since the tub was bubbling when we reached the shelter that housed it.

There's a small refrigerator in the cabana, so after he got me situated the way he wanted me, he got out of the tub and came back with an open bottle of champagne and two flutes.

He poured us each a glass and handed me both while he made himself comfortable next to me. He took one from me and we clinked glasses.

"To us Babe. To our future together."

I nodded, bit my lip and suddenly the tears were streaming down my face.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No Carlos, you said everything right, but what if he gets to me and we _don't_ _have_ a future together?"

"Not going there Babe. We'll find him this weekend. Don't worry needlessly."

That was the problem. I couldn't stop worrying. Needless or not.

Somehow our glasses disappeared and Carlos had pulled me onto his lap. He was saying soothing words in Spanish that I didn't understand but knew they were words of love...and I felt the tension leave my body. He was really magical that way.

"Better Babe?" he asked, obviously sensing the change in my demeanor.

"Much. Thank you."

"Let's go inside then."

My man is single-minded when it comes to getting what he wants, and right now he wanted me. His dick was at half-mast as he helped me into my robe and carried me back to the house. Come to think of it, he was always at half-mast and just about ready for full staff, anytime I was around. God I loved that man.

I could feel Carlos laughing as we walked. "I love you too Babe."

"I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"And you've already put me at full staff."

Yep. I could feel it poking me now.

Carlos carried me straight through to our bedroom, engaging the alarm system on his way. Seemed like he didn't want to be disturbed tonight.

He kicked the bedroom door closed, let me down gently and pulled me to him by the collar on my robe. He had that dilated-black hungry look to his eyes and I was pinned between him and the now-closed door. And then he kissed me. A long, open-mouthed kiss, that left me wanting more. Next thing I knew my robe was slipped from my shoulders and Carlos was licking and kissing any exposed flesh he could find. And it was _all_ exposed.

He lingered on my neck and sensations started flooding through my body and pooled somewhere around my doodah. God I wanted him. I pushed him towards the bed, but we never made it that far. The Flokati rug was super soft and plush and he'd reached for pillows to cushion us.

"With your hair fanned out and your face flushed like that, you look so beautiful. Like an erotic piece of art," he stated, staring at my naked body on the rug.

Then he was all over me and I ended up straddling his face. I couldn't even figure out how we got into this position, but I wasn't going to complain as I was being treated to a very first-class experience. "Oh God Carlos," I moaned as my first orgasm hit. As I was riding it out, he put a couple of fingers inside of me, sucked me hard and I came again.

Then he picked me up and carried me to the bed for more.

I vaguely heard a phone ringing somewhere and felt the bed shift slightly. I guessed Carlos got up to answer it. Glad it wasn't me. After the evening we had, I didn't have the strength nor the inclination to get up until somewhere around noon. Yeah, Carlos is _that_ good.

Sometime later I sensed he was back in bed with me, so I snuggled close and got myself all nice and comfy on my Carlos pillow.

"Babe, Hector and Santos will be here around eight."

"Um hmm," I said and snuggled closer.

"Do you want to shower before they get here?"

"Sleep," I barely got out before my pillow moved, kissed me then replaced himself with a couple of real pillows.

"I'll put some coffee on. We'll be in my office."

Too many words.

Then it dawned on me. We were supposed to _alone_ this weekend.

"Did something happen?" I asked, now partially awake.

"Hector was able to trace the origin of the hacker that got into our system. They're bringing some things over and want to replicate their data trail again from here."

"Should we be worried?"

"Probably."

I was awake now. "What do you mean, 'probably'? I'm getting up, I want to know everything. Quick shower," I said, knowing my train of thought was still a little scrambled.

I did my morning routine as fast as I could. I hoped I had enough time to get some information out of Carlos before Hector and Les got here. I didn't like being left in the dark, even if it meant a little sleep deprivation.

I was putting my hair back into a pony tail when I heard the buzz of someone at our gate. I pulled out my tube of mascara and quickly globbed it on both eyes then pulled on a T-shirt and jeans and padded out barefoot. I'd find shoes later.

I made it to the kitchen just as our front doorbell rang. I grabbed a kiss from Carlos and poured myself a cup of coffee. I noticed a dozen eggs, some already sautéed onions, mushrooms and spinach and some cubed cheese out on the counter and the large omelet pan was on the stove. Guessed Carlos was making us breakfast. It was a wonderful thing to have a man that cooked. Cooking was never going to be one of my specialities. I could just about manage coffee.

And speaking of coffee, I'd taken my first sip when I heard Lester behind me.

"Hey Beautiful, what got you out of bed so early?" He said coming over and giving me a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hands, Santos," Carlos said following Les and Hector into the kitchen.

Let's just say he doesn't miss a trick and is jealous as hell. Luckily he just said 'hands' and not 'mats' for that one. I rolled my eyes at him and gave Hector a peck on the cheek. These were my guys too.


	3. Chapter 3—By Means of Elimination

_**Breaking Down Barriers**_

Thank you for all your encouragement to continue. And thank you Margaret for agreeing to be my beta once more. I also want to thank JE for creating the characters and allowing us to play with them :) And thank you Frostdance for pointing out my big faux pas. It's the CIAs offices that are located in Langley, VA, not the FBIs. I went back and fixed it in Chapter 2, but in case you noticed that I've changed the FBI to the CIA here and were about to question me this is the reason (and I like the sound of Langley, VA better than Washington, DC).

**Chapter 3 **—**By means of elimination**

**_Lester's POV_**

Ranger got us out here early by promising us food. Bobby and I had been up till two going over possible scenarios for the CIA to be gunning for Tank. We couldn't come up with anything.

I'd long respected Steph's uncanny ability to turn a small detail into a full-blown investigation and I hoped something would spark once we started relaying what we knew. Hector wanted to begin with the demo as Steph would be coming into this cold and Ranger needed to see how this linked back to Langley. Hector had pulled the IP address of the computer that was used to get into our system, but aside from an office-to-office search, we had no idea who was behind that computer.

So once we deposited our equipment in Ranger's office, Hec and I returned to the kitchen for breakfast. Of course it would be up to Rangeman standards but I'd long ago gotten over my early morning craving for sweets. I doubted Hector ever had one.

"Hey Beautiful, how's it going?" I asked, watching Steph pour the remaining coffee into a carafe before adding freshly ground beans and water to brew a new pot.

"You tell me. You guys find whoever got into our system?"

I nodded. "It's not exactly breakfast conversation so we'll talk after we eat.

Hector can give a demo. Boss, you need any help?" I asked turning towards Ranger at the stove to avoid any additional probing.

"I'm good but you can help Steph with plates and silverware."

We knew where everything was; we'd been out enough over the summer and Autumn loved to cook here. Yeah, Autumn and I were still together and I hoped today wouldn't turn into a long one as we had tickets at Lincoln Center tonight and we'd planned to spend Saturday at the MoMA.

Autumn was renting a tiny studio on Leonard Street in TriBeCa because the commute from Princeton to her job at the Four Seasons was killing her-not to mention the cost of that commute on the Acela everyday. We'd been talking about getting a house together somewhere in Jersey, halfway between her job and Rangeman, but we hadn't moved on it yet.

This was definitely the longest I'd ever been in a relationship with any woman.

"Les, how's Autumn?" Steph asked obviously picking up on my thoughts.

"Good, were going to the ballet tonight and the modern tomorrow. I like staying in the city with her, but that apartment is so small we are literally on top of each other all the time," I eyebrow-waggled.

"You are disgusting Santos," she said, smacking me with a potholder.

"Oh you should talk. Every time I walk into a room I catch the two of you in some sort of compromising position and _I_'_m_ disgusting," I grinned at her and took the plates and silverware I'd picked up over to the breakfast bar to arrange.

"Children," Hector commented, doing a very good imitation of a Stephanie eye roll and looking over at Ranger. He needed to loosen up and enjoy himself a little more, but I wasn't going there with him today, I knew what he was carrying.

Ranger ignored everything that was being said and brought the first omelet over to the table. He plated it and passed it to Stephanie.

"Eat Babe or it will get cold. Santos can you take the cantaloupe out of the refrigerator?"

I did as I was told and Ranger went back to the range. Funny if you thought about it. A few minutes later he deposited an omelet on my plate and minutes later one on Hector's. Another few minutes and we were all settled at the bar with breakfast. It was an _excellent _omelet and I'd watched how he made it — twelve egg whites and two whole eggs. No wonder it had some color to it. Just seeing that little break from tradition made me laugh though; it had to be Stephanie's influence.

Hec and Steph cleaned up while Ranger and I went outside to talk. He already knew that the break into our system originated in Langley and had gone over all the scenarios on his own.

"It doesn't make sense," he said, shaking his head. "Our relationship with the CIA is a good one. Especially after we worked together to take down Briggs. What keeps coming to mind is that if this guy is good enough to hack into our system, maybe he's good enough to falsify his electronic footprint. Maybe he's nowhere near Langley."

"Hector thought that too. And if that's the case then we won't be able to find him by hacking-back the way we did. We might have to wait till he makes another move on Tank."

"Well let's go inside and have Hector take us through what he does have. Then we can talk about falsified footprints and see if that gets us anywhere. And maybe we can ask Alex DiSilva to get involved. I hear he's as good as Hector. Maybe if they put their heads together they can look at the footprints from a different angle. Hector's always said there's nowhere to hide electronically."

"True," I mumbled as I opened the door to let us back in.

**_Hector_**'**_s POV_**

Estefania and I had cleaned up and were getting ready to go outside to see what was taking the boss and Santos so long, when the door to the deck opened and they walked in. My shit show would be up next.

I'd brought the PC tower we used to track back the break-in with me. I was a Mac man at heart but the software programs we used for searches were not available for the Mac so I had to rely on the best of what else was out there. This Dell Precision T3610 seemed to fit the bill, so with Rangeman's blessing we bought 65 of them for the Trenton office. This one was maxed out. 16 gigs of RAM, a 3.7 gigahertz processor and 1000 gigs of storage space. Small by my standards, but usable. It was still set up from last night and all I needed to do was run the programs I'd put together to follow the break-in back to its source.

Everyone was seated in Ranger's home office. I purposely did not hook this computer up to his home network, although since he's Mac-based the virus wouldn't be able to invade anyway. I attached the computer directly to the 42" wall-mounted display and turned it on. I activated the Systernals security utility to once again locate the IP address that originated the threat to Tank, then a GeoIPTool to track it back to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Back to _bullshit_.

I knew this was a fraudulent IP address as soon as Santos and Brown reached the same starting point that I did. It took them exactly 7 minutes. Nothing like this should take 7 minutes unless it's programmed to replicate earlier efforts. Thankfully I'd already asked Alex to help and we stayed up well into the early morning hours just trying to find out what was going on.

What we found was frightening. The invasion was not only a means to threaten Tank it was also a worm designed to take over all our networked computers. A virus had been activated by our IP traceback and as Rangman's computers are networked, the virus had attacked all sixty-five machines. Whoever programmed this, _now_ had access to Rangeman.

The only way around this was to either break the network and restore 65 computers or purchase new ones.

I was inclined to get a fleet of Macs, write my own cross-over program and/or install Parallels on all of them. If someone was able to hack in and drop a virus on us once, someone else would be able to do it again. That's why I like Macs, they are significantly less susceptible to viruses and I could remotely change all of our IP addresses weekly.

I still had yet to tell Ranger any of this and I was getting nervous as he and Steph stared at the screen. I had to speak up.

I was about to open my mouth, when Ranger beat me to it.

"This doesn't make sense, we are on good terms with the CIA. I think a sniffer program was installed by that attack to our system and we are..."

"...under siege," I completed the sentence for him.

I then told him, Les and Steph what Alex and I discovered last night.

"Break the network immediately," Ranger responded.

"We already did and Alex stayed up all night to physically take all our computers offline. But we can't trust that someone hasn't learned too much about us during the hours they had access to our system. My suggestion would be to have everyone work solely off their iPads and secure laptops until we 'clean' everyting. And we need to monitor for any suspicious activity on our servers and keep an eye out for another attack."

"Shit," Steph and Les said simultaneously, then laughed at themselves.

"I mean that isn't funny," Steph said back-peddling her giggles, "I was just laughing because Santos and I..."

She stopped when she realized no one found anything remotely funny.

"I know, 'bad timing'," she mumbled. Thankfully we all understood her.

"So," Ranger said, having had a few seconds to think. "Worst case scenario, someone spent a number of hours going through our system. We don't keep proprietary stuff on there, but they could have gotten names and home addresses for all the men, our client list _and_ access to our weekly rotations."

"Sí. Pero...but, it was more like _eleven_ hours. Tank got the threat around one and we didn't figure out what was really happening until close to midnight. I could download everyting off of everyone's computer in eleven hours. We need to assume likewise and send out a memo to all the Trenton men to take inventory of what they had on their computers. We need to know just what our hacker knows. I drew up a company-wide email this morning, but my English is still not perfect so I want someone to take a look at it before I send it out," I said pulling a couple of print outs from my bag.

**_Ranger's POV_**

Hector and Silvio had wanted the intranets of all four cities combined into a single place as a 'go to' for information. Thankfully this hadn't happened yet or our hacker would have had access to everything at Rangeman. Seeing inside Trenton was bad enough. It was our home office.

I knew given time Hector would be able to find the identity of the person who got through. He was that good and that's why we planned to offer him a place on the core team. Stephanie had been bucking for it since before we'd brought Briggs in but we just hadn't made it official yet. I guess you've figured out by now that Stephanie usually gets what she wants from me. I can't seem to deny her much. She's my weakness. Of course the core team needed to vote on it and they already had, so Hector was going to be asked to join us shortly - but it was _Stephanie_ who instigated it.

Tank was still accessible and I wanted to let him know what we'd learned. Of course I could call him later, but right now things were fresh in my mind.

"How about a ten minute break?" I asked the group. "Les, Hector, I want to call Tank and Bobby. When I looked around the only one I was excluding was Stephanie. "Babe, join us on the call?"

She nodded and I went into the kitchen to grab a few waters. When I came back with four of them, Bobby was already on the line. We called Tank on the sat and Hector punched him into conference. I got everyone up to speed and with a few additional comments from Hector and Santos I sat back and waited.

"Does this make sense to anyone?"

I heard a throat clearing on the line.

"Bobby?"

"I think it means we're fucked."


	4. Chapter 4

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pointing out flaws.

**Chapter 4 ****— ****Drama by Daylight**

_**Bobby's POV**_

I'm usually pretty calm and even-tempered about most things, guess that's the medical training, but when I heard that someone got past our firewall and used our intranet to threaten to kill Tank, I almost lost it. And to top off my sucky mood, I saw the pictures Ranger received from Kraven. Now it looked like _three_ Rangemen, make that Range_people_, were receiving death threats.

I'd offered safe houses to both Tank and Hector, but even as I did, I knew Hector would decline. And it wasn't just his passion for baseball. Let me re-phrase that-his passion for _the Mets_, but in general his machisimo-ness would never allow him to back off without a fight.

I just wanted to make sure that sadist couldn't get to him.

I knew Ranger was taking Steph to their house for a long weekend, but Hector was a different story; I didn't think our guys would blend in too well at any of the gay clubs he frequented. Well, maybe Cal or Jamie. But even if we blended in, following Hector to any of those clubs would be just about impossible. He doesn't have his own car and takes public transportation into the city. And he does things by himself, on a whim, at any hour.

The fact that he was in Belmar with Ranger, Steph and Lester right now, made me feel a little better. I kind of hoped we could keep him there. Kraven knew his sexual orientation and had extra special treats already lined up for him. Castration, dismemberment and setting his privates on fire were all depicted in the photos he sent to Ranger. If I was Hector, I'd be a lot more careful with my junk than he was.

And by the way this phone conversation was going I was pretty sure he was thinking more about saving Rangeman than saving his own ass. So when Ranger asked how any of us felt, the first thing that popped out of my mouth was that we were fucked.

I was thinking not so much about the person who'd infiltrated our network, but about _all_ of us. Right now the only person who was truly safe was Tank. As Roscoe and Tallulah Abernathy vacationing in the Canary Islands, they had the best chance of making it through this unscathed. If someone knew who _all of us_ _were_ and had our home addresses (well the ones who listed their home address as something other than 143 Haywood) they could get to us at any time. We needed to get the word out to all the men right now and not by intranet or email.

"Hector, can your GPS app send out a company-wide alert?" I asked thinking on my feet.

"Sí."

"If I type out a quick memo and send it to your private email, can you post for all the men?" I asked more directly.

"Sí."

"Good thinking, Brown," Ranger said, obviously picking up on what was going on in my head. "We need to alert the men that don't already know and that app isn't tied into our system. Is it Hector?"

"No. I have an Apple Developer account. Even though my apps are proprietary, I can't create anything for our iOS devices without it. I tink it's our saving grace or they'd have access to our fleet too."

Fuck.

My other phone rang in the middle of this discussion. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Brett. He's one of our men and Ranger's brother-in-law.

"Brett's on the other line, hold on a sec," I said placing them on mute before picking up my personal cell.

"Lauren's having contractions," were Brett's first words when I answered. Lauren is Ranger's sister and she's currently seven months pregnant.

I was thinking Braxton Hicks, or false labor and was about to tell him to stop worrying and make an appointment with their obstetrician, when I heard Lauren call to Brett.

True labor is painful and she sounded like she was in pain.

"How close together?" I asked.

"I've been timing. They've been about five to seven minutes apart for the last hour. We're waiting for the doctor to call us back. Do you think we should go to the hospital?"

Labor with a first child could last as long as twelve hours, but you could never be sure. If her contractions were really that close together she needed to get to the hospital just to be safe.

"Did her water break?"

"No, not yet."

"I'd go to the hospital. They can get in touch with your doctor. I'm on the other line with Ranger, do you want me to tell him?"

"Yeah and ask him to let the Manosos know too." "Lauren, are you ok?" I heard as he spoke away from the phone. "We're heading out now."

I hung up and unmuted my Rangeman phone.

"Trenton's first Rangebaby wants to make an appearance," I said to everyone.

"Is everything ok?" Ranger asked.

"They're heading to the hospital. She's only thirty-three weeks pregnant, so it could be false labor, but it didn't sound like it."

"That's early," Steph said in the background, obviously doing some calculations in her head, "Will the baby be ok?"

"I'd be more concerned if she was less than 32 weeks, but she's still going to be preterm."

"She?" Steph asked, picking up on my last sentence. I knew the baby was a girl, but I didn't know how common that knowledge was.

"Educated guess," I said, trying to cover my faux pas.

"Hector and I just sent out an alert via the GPS," Lester commented, probably a dig on the fact I promised to write up something but got side-tracked.

"Good. Now what's the plan for the weekend? Rotations as usual?"

"Erik and Eugene are leading a team into Bergen county. I got a few leads on warehouse space that's been recently leased out. We're hoping to find Kraven and shut him down," Ranger answered.

"Big county," I said. "And wealthy. What makes you think he's there?"

"It's where he's from. He comes from money; it's where he would feel the most comfortable. And we'd gotten some tips on his whereabouts over the last few months. Based on nothing more than his ability to get to the places where he's been spotted, Bergen county makes the most sense."

"How many men? With Tank gone and you and Lester on weekend leave, I need to figure out rotations," I said getting pissed. This was the job Tank and I hated the most.

"I can take care if it, I have access to the men's schedules," Ranger said, probably not thinking clearly.

"No you don't. You'd have to go on the intranet for that information, and until we know who broke in, no one's going on there but Hector via a back door. We have that smart board in the control room. It's not online. I can use that to pull together rotations."

"Take a picture and send it to my personal email. Send it to Steph too. We'll have the weekend worked out for you in an hour or so."

Thank God.

"Aye aye sir," I said, knowing how much Ranger hated that phrase.

I thought I heard a growl before Belmar disconnected.

_**Brett's POV**_

As we were driving to the hospital, I saw the alert pop up on the Rangeman app on my iPad. _Fuck._ I was one of the men whose home address was listed on our intranet. _Double fuck._ I was probably hours away from being a new father; we'd just moved in and I hadn't updated the security system yet.

Well there was nothing I could do about it now, but I hoped someone had time to help me put in a state-of-the-art system before Lauren and Avery arrived home.

Yeah, we were having a little girl. I'd wanted to name her Juliana Avery after no one in particular, but Lauren pointed out that Ranger's daughter's name was Julie and that would just be too confusing. But the name Avery stuck. Our daughter is going to be Avery Victoria Colton.

Avery's baby shower was supposed to be next Saturday. Ironically, she'll be _here_ for it, but she probably won't be making an appearance. I'd have to call Celia at some point. She was the one who organized this thing and would know how to cancel it.

Lauren grabbed my thigh really hard taking me out of my thoughts. I looked over at her and could tell by the look on her face that she was having a strong contraction. She was trying to breathe through it, but was having a tough time.

"My water broke," she said. "I'm sorry, I think I made a mess all over your car."

And then another contraction hit. This baby wanted out. We were still a few miles away from the Princeton Medical Center. The hospital itself was rated so-so, but its maternity ward was the best in the state. We went out of our way to find a doctor affiliated with it and now it just felt _too_ far away.

I had a feeling our baby was close when Lauren grabbed my thigh again, this time digging her fingers in as if her life depended on it. I'd be black and blue in the morning.

"Are you ok baby?" I asked her as the contraction subsided. She violently shook her head no. "We'll be there in a minute. Hold on," I said, checking both ways before going through a red light.

Flashing lights appeared out of nowhere and I heard a siren behind me. They could give me the ticket once Lauren was safely in the birthing unit, so I rolled down my window and motioned for them to follow me. Then I called Rangeman. Thankfully Hal was on duty.

"Lauren's having the baby and I have a tail on me. Princeton PD. Call you call and verify who I am? I'm in the Subaru. I'm not stopping for them."

A few moments later the sirens ceased, but the tail continued. Looked like we were getting a police escort.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

A notice was sent to all our personal email accounts, but I already knew the details since Carlos was on the phone with Brett shortly after Avery was born. Avery Victoria Colton arrived at 2:06 this afternoon. She weighed in at 4 lbs. 8 oz. and was 17 1/2 inches long. That sounded tiny to me. Actually I guessed she was. She was seven weeks early.

But she took my mind off all the unpleasantness going on around us.

As the first baby for Rangeman Trenton she was big news. Miami had a few and Boston and Atlanta had one apiece, but until today we were babyless. And jeez, I guessed I was an aunt again. Not that Carlos and I had secretly gotten married in the last few hours but his other nieces and nephews already called me Aunt Steph so I supposed little Avery would too.

Ok, that piece of news out of the way, we went back to figuring out the weekend's rotations. Now obviously Brett would be out of the picture and we'd need a team on his house when he was at the hospital since his current security system consisted of his gun and a baseball bat. Carlos would never let his sister and niece go unguarded after their very visible change of address was announced within the company.

This thing was turning into a huge pain in the ass.

The guys were holed up in Carlos' office going over the rotations we'd set up. I'd had enough of Rangeman business so I went online to check out the shoe sale at Lord & Taylor. Buy one pair and get a second at 50% off. Ella usually kept me pretty well stocked as far as designer clothes and shoes went, but sometimes a girl just needed to feel like she was getting a bargain. And if I didn't pick up some sandals now, they'd be sold out when I needed them. Okay, I rationalized that one. A pair of Calvin Klein T-strap wedges in black suede caught my eye. I could even wear them now, so I quickly ordered them in my size before looking for another pair. And I found them: a pair of Elliott Lucca platform wedges that were probably about four ½ inches high. They were brown and had a patchwork strap over the toe area and a double buckle at the ankle. Carlos would love them on me.

I found my bag and dug out my Lord & Taylor credit card. I rarely used it so I knew it wasn't maxed out. And lately none of my accounts were maxed out anyway. Rangeman paid me well and I was able to pay off most of what I owed. I ordered them and gave the name and address of Samantha Pardo as the recipient. This way they'd come directly to Belmar.

That done, I could either continue shopping and spend more money or I could go see what the guys were up to.

I opted for the guys.

As I made my way back to Carlos' office I heard Les' voice. I could tell he was pissed that we hadn't found Kraven yet and that he'd made a move against me.

I was less upset than he was and was going to tell him so, but when I walked into Carlos' office I saw what was up on the computer screen — another picture of me.

"Where did you get this?"

"It just arrived," Carlos said, sounding beyond angry. "It was in my inbox; Hector was checking our emails using his developer account and this was in there. It went out company-wide."

The image on screen showed a photoshopped version of 'me' naked. I was held spread eagle by a pair of massive hands and another set of hands were getting ready to insert a bulky device into my vagina. According to the description, this device was called a choke pear. _It could be used orally, rectally or vaginally, __forced into the mouth, anus or vagina of its victim and expanded by screws to open its segments._ _The pointed prongs on the ends of these segments were designed to rip into the throat, intestines or cervix, causing the cavity to be irreparably mutilated. Death usually followed._ At least that's what the email said. The device looked gruesome and I felt sick to my stomach.

"I wanted to hide this from you Babe," Ranger said as I gagged and felt the need to vomit.

A waste basket was placed under my chin and I threw up everything that was left in my stomach.

Ranger picked me up and carried me to the closest bathroom. He turned on the water and used a washcloth to clean me up and press a cold compress to my neck and forehead.

"I'm sorry Babe," he kept saying over and over as if that could change what I saw.


	5. Chapter 5—An Email from Satan

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pointing out my flaws.

**Chapter 5** — **An email from Satan**

_**Ranger**__**'**__**s POV**_

Hector used his developer account to download my email, his email, Bobby's, Les's and Tank's. We were hoping to have everything straightened out in a few days and until then access to Rangeman's email server was suspended. That was almost a blessing. I was glad the majority of the men weren't able to open the email that was sent en masse. Kraven's a demented individual with a sick sense of humor and if I ever got my hands on him, I'd fuck him up badly. I'd probably have to restrain myself from killing him.

We were on the phone with Bobby and Tank. Hector had just made our emails available to our personal accounts when Bobby let out an 'oh shit' over the line.

"Ranger did you get an email from a 666K address?" followed his 'oh shit' outburst.

I was still reading through the one from Roebling jewelers who were looking to upgrade their cameras to smaller, more discreet versions and I hadn't gotten as far down my list as he had.

"Not yet" I mumbled, scanning my inbox and noting that I had one too.

"Don't," Bobby said too late, as I'd already jumped to look at it.

Unfortunately I had moved with my laptop to a seat by the door so Hector could use my tower as a development tool and my screen was visible from the doorway. It was at this moment that Steph decided to join us again.

She took a look at the image on screen and after she read the description her stomach revolted. As I said earlier, Kraven's a very disturbed individual. I supposed he got off on this shit since he spend as much time photoshopping images together as he did scanning the country for his pieces. I was just sorry she had to see this latest creation. I had hoped to delete it from both our accounts without a trace.

I grabbed a waste basket when I realized she was going to be sick and I took both it and her to the half bath in the hall.

I guessed I must have been apologizing over and over because once I had her feeling a little better she stared at me, "Carlos, it's not your fault, let it be. If it wasn't now, it would probably be tomorrow. I just didn't expect it to be so graphic."

"I'm sorry Babe," I said again, for lack of anything else to say.

"Stop. I'm ok. Are we prisoners here? I think I'd like to get out tonight."

I hated that she felt this way and was going to oblige even though I'd rather we stayed in.

"Dinner at the Ramos'?" I asked once I knew we'd be going out.

Alexander and Homer Ramos were the owners of Niko's, a Greek place in Deal. Of course that was not public knowledge and they hired staff to manage and run the place but one or the other, or both, showed up most nights to eat. And since the place was 'protected' I liked to recommend it when I wasn't feeling particularly great about going out. The food was good, I knew Steph loved it and I also wondered if Alexander had heard anything about either one of our problems. His tentacles were far-reaching.

"Thank you Carlos. I want to brush my teeth and change my clothes. Then I think I'd like to take a nap for a while. How about around seven?"

It never ceased to amaze me that my woman could even _be_ hungry after seeing such gruesome things, or that she recovered so quickly. I kissed her on the top of her head and then cleaned up the bathroom while she headed down the hall to the master suite.

Les had to leave for the city and his weekend with Autumn, but I'd try to convince Hector to accompany us tonight. I wanted him to keep Steph occupied while I fished for answers. Alexander would want to protect her and clam up if she was at my side while I interrogated him.

I headed back to my office with the waste bin.

"How is she?" Both Santos and Hector asked as I placed the receptacle back beside my desk.

"She says she's fine; she wants to go out to dinner."

I told them my plan and Hector volunteered without my asking. It probably wouldn't have taken much; he worried about Steph and would want to see for himself that she was ok. And I was glad that I'd convinced her to let Cal and Ram stay in the apartment in case we needed them. Their being here wasn't a complete waste of time since they were working with Hector to come up with another angle for the break in. Although they weren't hackers in the sense that Hector or Alex were, they possessed some knowledge of systems and information retrieval and had wanted to help.

When Les left around four, I went over to the apartment with my laptop. Although I didn't want this email circulating, I thought they needed to know why I was going to ask them to be our personal bodyguards tonight.

"Is this the same asshole who caused Steph to miscarry last year?" Ram asked, looking at my screen and wincing.

"One and the same. Notice his 666 email address. He thinks he's Satan and if I ever get my hands on him, I'll send him back to hell where he belongs," I said, not particularly wanting to relive Steph's miscarriage. It was one of the things we hadn't talked about since she recovered less than a year ago.

"Of course we'll watch the place while you're inside," Cal said before adding, "Although I'd much rather be on Erik's team _looking_ for him. There's not much excitement watching a parking lot or digging through computer files. We need to get his ass and get it now."

I whole-heartedly agreed. I hadn't heard from Erik yet today but his team wasn't due to check in until 11 tonight. Some things are best done under the cover of darkness and searching for a functioning torture chamber was one of them.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up from my nap feeling much better. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth again before looking in the closet for something to wear tonight. Although the place was informal, I still wanted to look good. 'Carlos could look amazing in a paper bag, but I had to work at it', I said to myself as I pulled a pink top with a low boat neck out of the closet. I'd pair it with skinny jeans and Carlos' favorite shoes; the Louboutin pumps with the peep toe. It must be the red soles, but I swear every time I wear them we have a night of amazing sex. Well, we have amazing sex anyway, but you know what I mean.

I did my hair, globbed on a few coats of mascara and then got dressed. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror and thought I looked a little pale. I'd blame it on Kraven, but it was probably a winter's worth of lack of sunshine. To make up for it, I dug through my purse again and pulled out some blush. A couple of swipes later and I felt like a new woman. I added earrings along with a necklace I couldn't remember buying and went out to find Carlos.

He was in the kitchen with Hector, Cal and Ram and his eyes dilated black when he saw me. He came over, wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. It was one of those great kisses with lots of tongue. Yes, in front of the guys. I was pretty sure it was a 'she's mine' thing.

"You look beautiful, Babe."

"Where did I get this necklace, Carlos?"

"Do you like it?" he asked answering my question with a question. It was one of those frustrating habits of his, probably left over from interrogating the enemy.

"Yes, I like it, but where did it come from?"

"I saw it in Paris when I bought your ring and thought it would look beautiful on you. I was going to wrap it and give it to you, but I thought it would be more fun to just put it with your other jewelry and watch your expression when you found it."

Insane man. I could have gone rhino. "You said you bought that ring four years ago. You mean you had this hidden for four years too?"

"Yes."

"Um, is there anything else hidden that I need to worry about?"

"Maybe."

He was frustrating me, but the expression on his face was so cute I let it go. I'd see what I could get out of him later.

"So I was thinking..." I continued, changing the subject. "You never told me about Tank's threat? What could someone possibly say to get _him_ to leave the country?"

"This was his third threat Babe. Each time it kept getting closer and closer to home. First his office email, then a text to his Rangeman cell and now our intranet. Whoever it is knows where he lives, they know the names of his cats and they know about Lula. He could take care of himself but he was concerned for Puffball or whatever her name is and Lula."

"Applepuff," I corrected. "Go on."

"They told him they were going to skin his Maine coon and leave her on the porch for him to see, and then they were going after Lula. Anyone with that much information probably knows his day-to-day routine and the threat seemed personal."

"Where are Suzy, Miss Kitty and Applepuff?" I asked, suddenly very concerned for them.

"They're staying with Annabelle, his cat sitter. They're at her parents' cabin in upstate New York."

"What if he was watching and followed her?"

"Junior and Slick picked up her and the cats and brought them there. They said they weren't followed."

"But what if they were? She's just a college kid. What if someone skinned all of them already? How would we know?"

"She has our number Babe. She'd call Rangeman if there was anything suspicious going on."

I wasn't 100% satisfied but I'd drop it for now.

We took the Hummer to Deal and I saw another Hummer in the parking lot. Homer's. Guessed we had similar concerns when it came to safety and I wondered for a minute if theirs was bullet-_proof_ too. But of course it was, weren't they gunrunners? Seemed to me if you were a gunrunner you needed to be worried about someone _gunning for you._

I watched Carlos. He tries not to give much away but I knew him better than anyone and I saw relief on his face. He seemed glad that at least one of the Ramos' was here tonight. I always wondered why he didn't just pick up the phone when he wanted to talk to someone. What if this 'fate' thing didn't work when you needed it?

We got out of the car and he put an arm protectively around my waist as we walked into the restaurant.

Both Homer and Alexander were sitting at a table by the bar. It looked like they had just been served, so I hoped we'd sneak by and not bother them while they ate. Obviously Alexander has ESP though and he looked up as we entered.

"Chickie, good to see you. Come over here and make an old man happy."

Carlos, Hector and I walked over and Alexander got up. He pulled me into an embrace and whispered in my ear, "You're still with _him_? What do I have to do to change your mind and convince you to come to Greece with me?"

"I'm very happy here. Carlos and I are engaged," I said, showing him my ring. I was pretty sure I showed it to him the last time we bumped into them, but well, he's old; maybe he forgot.

"Can't blame an old man for trying. Your dinner's on the house tonight. Stop by before you leave though, I may have something of interest for what's his name," he said nodding his head towards Carlos.


	6. Chapter 6—The Learning Curve

**I don't own them. Thank you Margaret :)**

**Chapter 6** — **The Learning Curve**

_**Ranger's POV**_

I heard him.

Alexander Ramos enjoyed flirting with my woman but he also knew something either Tank- or Kraven-related. And I wasn't sure if it was something Stephanie should be hearing after her day today. I'd make my way over to the Ramos' table while she and Hector were having dessert. Alexander would probably invite us over after we got through with business anyway.

The waitress led us to a table in the back; she finally got that down. We came here quite a bit over the summer and for a while she kept trying to give me a center table. That would have been ok if there were a mirror on the rear wall, but there wasn't so I'd just raise an eyebrow and look towards the back. She figured it out after the forth or fifth time, happy to see that she's remembered.

It was a limited menu and I knew it by heart. Hector had been here before and like me, needed no further introduction to their fare. Steph took a menu anyway. She probably hoped something new would appear or seeing the foods she liked spelled out got her juices flowing. Hmmm, I'd like to get her juices flowing; maybe inviting Hector wasn't such a good idea after all.

I ordered the Greek salad and their grilled chicken. Hector got the same. Stephanie on the other hand ordered fresh pitas with tzatziki and olives for the table, stuffed grape leaves _and_ saganaki, a bubbling cheese dish, as appetizers. Then she ordered lamb chops with Greek roasted potatoes for her main and so she wouldn't forget (as if she would) galactobourecko for dessert. Where that woman put it all was still a mystery to me and I've been watching her eat (read that as painfully) for the last four years.

She really had been doing better but something about going out to ethnic places like this made her revert to old habits. I felt my arteries clog just watching her and then I shuddered.

"Come on Carlos, you know you want some," she said practically putting the melted cheese into my mouth.

"It's all yours Babe. I'm saving room for _pie_." I lowered my voice for that last part and hoped Hec didn't hear. Stephanie turned a nice shade of pink.

I loved that I could still do that to her and I planned to tease her a lot tonight. It usually made her much more receptive to me, not that she wasn't normally, but I loved when she got _extra_ hormonal. I smiled at that one remembering some of our more fun encounters. The cherry oil from Pleasure Treasures came to mind. I had to alter my internal musings or I'd be tempted to take her outside now and miss hearing what Ramos had to say.

We had finished eating and our waitress reappeared with two Greek coffees for Steph and Hector and a large square of something dripping in honey for Stephanie. That was my cue to make a move to visit the elder Ramos. I was about to use the men's room as an excuse when Hannibal walked into the restaurant. The addition of another Ramos would serve my purpose better.

"I need to talk to Hannibal," I said pretty much to deaf ears. Steph was getting her sugar high and nothing could compete with that at the moment. I looked at Hector and imperceptibly nodded. He understood the gesture and would get Steph another piece of whatever custard-y thing that was if I wasn't back in time.

"Hannibal, my pleasure," I said extending my hand to Alexander's middle son.

"Mañoso," he said calling me by the proper Spanish pronunciation of my name. Most people, including myself, use the Americanized Manoso.

We spoke for a few minutes before Alexander abruptly announced that he needed to talk to me. I followed him to an office in the back and once we were inside he closed, then locked, the door.

He invited me to sit down, so I did assuming this was going to be long and painful.

"You know I hear things," he began and I nodded. "Sherman out of the country?" I nodded again. "I don't want to play a guessing game with you Manoso. Can you tell me what's going on or do you want me to tell you what I've heard?"

"Tank's had numerous threats," I said, not wanting to play games either. "Someone knows too much about him and has hacked into our intranet and menaced him. They want to kill him, which is something we _do_ have to take seriously, but they also promised to harm his cats and his fiancée," I concluded, giving him just enough information to determine if his intel was accurate.

"Bloodline. New York City," he said, telling me all I needed to know.

This was something I expected to hear one of these days, but certainly not in this fashion. In 1999 an ALKN (Almighty Latin King Nation aka the Latin Kings) member, Antonio Fernandez, was sentenced to thirteen years for the trafficking of heroin and weapons. Fernandez was released a little over a year ago and was recently named Inca and Supreme Crown of the New York and New Jersey Kings. One of Tank's earliest jobs after leaving the military was personal bodyguard for Maria Padilla Quiñones, Fernandez' estranged 'wife'.

Prior to his prison sentence Fernandez had been arrested by the FBI for domestic abuse and Maria felt her life would be in jeopardy if the early parole Antonio had been seeking was granted. It was at this point that she hired Tank to be with her 24/7. Unfortunately for Tank, Fernandez heard about Maria's 'bodyguard' and assumed they were romantically involved as well. They weren't, but that really didn't matter as far as Fernandez was concerned, he was gunning for Tank anyway. And now obviously he's found him.

As Inca for the Kings he has undying love, support and acceptance from the ranks. He probably had their top hacker find and then subsequently break into Tank's accounts.

I'd rather Tank not be up against _anyone_ gang-related, but having the top man gunning for him _was not good_. Fernandez would either need to die or rescind his execution order for us to let Tank roam freely anywhere on either coast from now on. Our best bet would be to see if Hector's or Raphael's gang ties could do anything. And I was also thinking that we needed to get in touch with Ms. Padilla.

I nodded to Ramos that I understood.

"Maybe not as bad as it seems," he said. "They say they've _reformed_ and have gone from being a 'gang' to being a political organization protecting Latino nationalists. I hear they've also aligned themselves with the Marielitos, your Cuban criminal group."

I knew the Marielitos quite well. Their stronghold was in the South Bronx but a few still resided in Newark, mostly contract killers and drug traffickers. And I knew Lolo Sotolongo, the leader of the Newark faction. While not exactly friends, we'd worked together before when we needed information. Rangeman paid well and they appreciated that.

"You know Sotolongo, don't you?" Alexander added just as I was going to get up and thank him for his information.

"We do and I'll be in touch with him later. I also plan to have Hector or Raphael talk to 'Tater' Moreno, Fernandez' second in command."

"Good move. Let me know if I can be of any help. We do business with them on occasion."

Thought so. "Thanks, I'll probably take you up on that."

Alexander opened the office door and we both headed back to our tables.

"Stop by with Steph before you leave," Alexander said joining Homer and Hannibal at their table.

Stephanie still had her plate in front of her and a fork in her right hand. She let out a low moan as I approached. I'd hoped it was in response to me but I'd learned a long time ago that the sex sounds she makes when she eats are in appreciation for what she considers good food. I only hoped Hector's sexuality had him immune. I didn't know too many men who would be.

"Babe," I said kissing her neck just above her collarbone. I let my lips rest there for a second and I felt her shiver. Good. Two could play at this game.

I sat down next to her and took her left hand in mine while I quickly, in Spanish, brought Hector up to speed. I saw his eyes go wide and he pulled out his phone. He placed a call to Raphael and by the one-sided conversation I heard, Rafe wasn't available at the moment.

Stephanie wasn't really paying attention to us, thank God, but she did look up when Hector's phone rang a few minutes later. He spoke rapid-fire Spanish to Rafe and even if Steph could catch a word here or there I knew she had no idea what was being said.

"Raphael is on his way in," he said to us after hanging up. "He and I will replace Cal and Ram for the next twelve hours but we have something to do around eleven tonight. Should we ask Bobby to put on another team?" he continued, giving me the information I needed. Raphael had gotten through to Tater and they were going on a fishing expedition.

I thought I might have to make a trip to Newark to talk to Sotolongo around that time too and I didn't necessarily want to leave Steph alone in the house with a madman after her. So my response was more for my peace of mind than for anything else since the house was secure.

"Yeah. And twelve hours is too long a rotation. Make it eight and you and Raphael can take over for whoever is replacing Cal and Ram."

Bobby was not going to be happy. He hated this aspect of being at the helm and I'm sure I'd hear about it later. Little more I could do. When Steph and I created the schedule, we didn't anticipate extenuating circumstances that could change it. Shift changes in Trenton, where these men were stationed, would fall to Bobby. So I pulled out my phone and called him. Unspoken code between us, I call him Roberto, we speak in Spanish.

"Roberto, Ranger," I said when he answered. I told him what I'd just learned from Alexander and he rejigged some men to put Hal and Binkie on our rotation. He said he was going to get Lester up to speed at some point over the weekend and asked if I needed assistance with Sotolongo tonight. I took that to mean he and I, so I didn't decline. Bobby and I worked well together.

_**Bobby's POV**_

I must say I wasn't expecting the intel Ranger handed me. As soon as I heard ALKN I knew exactly what had popped up to bite us in the ass. Antonio Fernandez. I wasn't surprised by the Marielitos involvement with them and I volunteered to accompany Ranger to meet with Lolo Sotolongo tonight. I'd let Ranger work out the details, but I'd make myself available for the meeting. Wondered if he'd come to us? Our building was more secure than the back room of a social club and security was important to both of us. I made my opinion on that known to Ranger and I was pretty sure he'd suggest it to Lolo when they spoke. If we could get Sotolongo as an ally on this, I'd feel better about Tank returning to the U.S. anytime in the near future.

The downside of this thinking was the fact that Sotolongo and his men had already sided with ALKN. Changing his mind or getting him to have a civil conversation with Fernandez regarding Tank might not be easy. I hoped a little pressure on our end and a lot of pressure from Hector and Rafe towards Moreno, Fernandez' second, might work. We had nothing to lose, Tank was already out of the country...although the Latin Kings had far-reaching tentacles.

I was now waiting on Ranger's call. I felt certain that Sotolongo would agree to our meeting, just wasn't sure _where_ it would take place. I had doubts he'd agree to Rangeman, so I was pulling out my flak vest when my phone rang.

It was Ranger.

"We're on for eleven at Rangeman. He's bringing his posse, but at least he agreed to meet with us and on our terms," he told me in English, which also told me Steph had been brought up to speed.

"Good. Have Hector and Raphael made any progress?"

"They're meeting with Tater Moreno in Newark at just about the same time we'll be with Sotolongo. I would think by midnight we'll know if this angle is going to be viable. I'd hate for Tank to be on the run for the next twenty years."

_If_ he lived that long.

"I'll be at Rangeman by ten," he continued. "I plan to leave as soon as Hal and Binkie get here. Steph's excited, last time Binkie was at the house he was teaching her how to read the 'tells' during a poker game. She's hoping he'll work with her to develop a good blank face tonight. I'm glad she's not angry that we're working since I promised her the weekend."

He was so pussy-whipped.


	7. Chapter 7—Meeting with the Enemy

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pointing out my flaws.

Chapter 7—Meeting with the Enemy

_**Stephanie's POV**_

While Hector drove us home in the Hummer, Carlos brought me up to speed. Alexander Ramos had passed on some information that seemed to make sense to him and Bobby. To me it seemed like a lot of trouble. Why would anyone purposely involve themselves with gangbangers? I'd had my own scare with the Slayers but I heard they were child's play compared to the Latin Kings. And it was their _head guy_ that was gunning for Tank. So remind me why they think Kraven is scary? Jeez.

We were in the back seat and Carlos was sitting close, holding my hand and playing with my ring as he spoke.

"Babe, I know I promised to be with you this weekend, but Bobby and I have to go to Newark tonight to speak with Lolo Sotolongo, the leader of the Marielitos, a Cuban gang that's aligned themselves with Fernandez. If we apply the right pressure they may turn their allegiance and help us straighten out this Tank mess. We've known Sotolongo for a long time. He can be a real prick but he's agreed to meet with us. Will you be ok with Hal and Binkie staying at the house?"

"I have Hector, I don't need them."

"Hector and Raphael are heading out to meet with Tater, Fernandez' second in command."

"Tater?"

"Nickname. Looks like a tater tot."

Eww. I got the picture.

I thought about what Carlos was saying. I knew he didn't want to leave me vulnerable (and Kraven was still sending him pictures) but I had training and I really didn't need bodyguards. Then it hit me that Binkie and Hal were more like friends than bodyguards so I agreed. And Binkie would probably teach me some more poker moves. Maybe one of these days I'd be good enough to play at a table in Atlantic City.

Once we arrived back at the house Hector seemed overly driven. He made quick work of gathering the computer and everything else he'd brought and took it out to the Rangeman SUV with almost super-human speed. Carlos said he and Rafe were meeting Tater. I wondered if he was afraid of this Tater? Nah, Hector wasn't afraid of anything or anyone.

After a few minutes of his racing around, I couldn't take it anymore and pitched in to help.

"You ok?" I asked as I gathered adapters and wires.

"Tater doesn't wait. Rafe and I can't be late. The Kings are like the military, better a half an hour early than on time. A second late and you're dismissed. It'll take me an hour to get back to Rangeman and another hour to get to Newark. And that's without traffic. I need to leave now."

Ranger was also getting ready so I tried to stay out of their way.

Hec left first, so I gave him a hug and wished him luck. He said he'd be back at the house to relieve Hal and Binkie and he'd let me know what he learned. Glad someone was keeping me in the loop.

I walked back towards the bedroom just as Carlos was coming out. I knew he was carrying his minimum two guns and a knife but he didn't appear nervous or worried about this meeting. Then again he never was.

"Babe, I should be back tonight, but don't wait up. If Bobby and I get what we want we may stay at Rangeman working out tactics but either way, I'll be late."

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me goodbye just as our gate buzzed that we had visitors. I went over to the video feed and saw it was Hal, so I buzzed him in.

"Don't go crazy, Babe," he said nuzzling my neck and kissing me again, his kiss tender and reassuring.

"Don't get shot," I said back to him before realizing it was a distinct possibility. And one that I didn't want to dwell on right now.

He kissed me one more time and then he set out. The door buzzed and I caught him fist-bumping Hal and Binkie. He left as they entered.

"Steph?" Hal called from the hallway. "We're here."

"I know," I said walking into view, "I saw you come up. Bring anything good with you?" Sometimes Hal snuck me Butterscotch Krimpets.

"Sorry...we came out on short notice. Do you know what's going on?"

I led them into the kitchen and pulled a large bunch of grapes in a bowl from the refrigerator along with a few waters. Once we got comfy around the breakfast bar, I told them what I knew.

"Holy shit," Binkie let out, along with the breath he was holding.

"Yeah. Did you know that Tank had been a personal body guard for anyone?"

Hal knew a lot so I thought maybe I could get more of the back story from him if I asked.

"Sorry Bomber, I only know about his Rangeman past. He never talks about what he did before and it usually takes a few shots of Tequila to even get him to talk about Rangeman. The man is just closed-mouthed."

Weren't they all? Look what it took for me to get Carlos to open up. Maybe I'd text Lula later.

Alright, so now what could we do? I certainly wasn't tired.

"Poker guys?" I asked; digging out the cards I'd stashed with the local phone directory.

They both smiled and Binkie pulled three beers from the refrigerator while I lowered the lights for ambiance.

"Five card draw or seven card stud?" I asked taking on the job as dealer because I liked to shuffle.

We played about five or six games before the beer and the day got to me. I guess I fell asleep on the counter because I woke up to Hal gently nudging me.

"Stephanie, wake up and go to bed."

Duh. Wake up and go to bed? That made no sense. Wished I could just magically transport myself down the hall to my bedroom. I must have said that out loud because all of I sudden Hal picked me up and carried me like I weighed nothing. This carrying stuff was getting old, I had good use of my legs, but if they wanted to play macho I guessed I could go along for the ride.

Hal stopped right outside my bedroom door and put me down.

"Ranger would kill me if he heard I was alone in a bedroom with you."

"You crazy man," I said, rubbing my hand over his buzz cut as if he were a magic bottle with a genie inside. "He'd never kill you for helping me, but thank you for the ride and I'll see you in the morning."

"Probably not Steph, we're only on till six. Use the keypad if you need us for anything."

When I woke up I was alone. Carlos' side of the bed looked like it had not been slept in. I wondered if he even came home? And then I started to worry. What if something happened to him or Bobby? What if someone got shot? What if they were executed?

I got myself out of bed, put on a robe in case any of the guys were here and padded out to look for Carlos or to learn whatever I could.

I found them in Carlos' office. Both Bobby and Carlos looked like they hadn't slept and knowing how lack of sleep can make you jumpy, I didn't want to startle them so I knocked on the door.

"How'd it go? Hi Bobby."

"Hey Bomber. We just got back about an hour ago."

"You negotiated for ten hours?" I said, amazed that anyone could stay on one topic for that long.

"No Babe. Bobby and I went back to Rangeman to talk about what happened and then we came here to talk more when the men started coming in for the shift change."

"So what happened? What did he say? Is he going to help you?"

"Yes and no. He understands our dilemma and wants to help, but he doesn't think the timing is right. Fernandez was just appointed Inca and this was his first line of business. Lolo thinks we should let him bask in his glory for a while. His guy broke through our firewall, big deal in itself, and then he got Tank to leave the country. Right now he's patting himself on the back for a job well done. Lolo thinks he's laughing his ass off that he's put one over on us; although I'm not so sure this was done as a joke. We're waiting for Hector and Rafael to show up so we can compare information."

"Are they ok? They weren't hurt, were they?"

"They're fine. After their meeting, Tater was hungry so they took him to an all night diner he likes somewhere in Westchester. Tater kept ordering shots until he finally passed out. They took him back to Newark and now they're making their way here. We keep losing Hector on his cell, so we don't have all the details."

"Is Tater always like that? I hope he didn't drive?"

"He's irratic and has been known to do things like this before. He doesn't have a license. Word is that with his extreme dyslexia he would never have passed the written, so he never tried."

Odd that he's made it so far up in gangdomland.

"Any news on Kraven?"

"The warehouses were a bust. They're going to keep looking."

"Ok. I'm going to go take a shower."

"I'll put on coffee. If we're not here when you come out we'll be in the gym."

It was at least good to know that everyone I cared about was safe.

I took a shower, did my hair and put on a couple of swipes of mascara before going out to see what I could dig up for breakfast. As promised Carlos had put coffee on. There were also fresh bagels on the table, including a couple that looked like regular bagels. Not the whole grain type or something else that might be good for me.

I cut one in half and put it in the toaster oven while I looked in the refrigerator to see what else Carlos might have brought. I found low fat cream cheese and some of that mega-expensive smoked salmon he liked so much. I took them both out and waited for the toaster to ding.

Once it did, I spread my bagel thick with cream cheese and added a piece of salmon. A Carlos breakfast, just maybe not as healthy. While I was eating there was a knock on the kitchen door before someone turned the knob and walked in. It was Hal and Binkie.

"What are you guys still doing here? I thought you were leaving at 6."

"We're waiting till Hector and Rafe get here, then were taking off," Binkie explained.

"I thought they'd be here by now."

"So did we but Rafael got a call from Tater and they took a detour via Newark. They'll be here soon."

"I heard about his 'shots' last night, I'm surprised he wasn't sleeping them off."

"He's probably still got an alcohol high and that was probably what was talking but since he was offering more information, Hector and Raphael decided to take advantage of it."

It never ceased to amaze me just how much information we could get when we tried. And since this was the case right now, I also wondered how come we couldn't get anything solid on Kraven. I had Hal's attention so I figured I'd ask.

"Have you had breakfast yet? We have bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon and Carlos put on a pot of coffee. Why don't you join me?"

"Ranger and Bobby invited us in for breakfast too, thank you."

I got out plates and poured each of them a coffee. I assumed they liked it black but just in case they didn't, I took milk and sugar out for them.

Once we were sitting around the breakfast bar eating, I pounced with my question.

"You seem to get all this gang-related information so easily, do you know why it's taking us so long to find Kraven?"

"He's not a member of a gang or any other group we can come up with. It's always easy to get information on gang-members. Either they're pissed off at someone or they like to brag. When a person has no allegiances, it's harder to find out anything. Kraven's a loner with a particularly creepy hobby. We have our feelers out, but nothing is coming back. Don't worry, he'll fuck up soon. They always do."


	8. Chapter 8—In the Hood

A/N Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I'm sorry if I didn't get back to you individually this week. It was crazy at work. I'm going to start posting on Saturdays now, at least I'll be able to give everyone a personalized response over the weekend. Thanks again :)

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and sending me in the right direction.

Chapter 8 — In the Hood

_**Hector**__**'**__**s POV**_

Raphael and I were done with Tater Moreno by two. He'd asked us to take him up to Westchester to his favorite all-night diner. Although it was a forty-minute drive from where we were in Newark, we decided to indulge him.

He ordered a shot of tequila with his burger and fries. Rafe and I had coffee. People said Moreno looked like a tater tot. I was eyeing him intently while he ate and what I saw was a giant turd. It was a good thing turd man liked me. I was pretty sure he knew I was gay and most bangers had no use for a gay man...except that I had knife and street Jui Jitsu skills way better than anyone and I'd never bothered to bleed out. I was still _technically_ a gang member and so was Raphael. We tooled it when necessary. And tonight it was necessary.

Turd man told us very little in Newark. Could be he was afraid he'd be overheard even though there was no one else around. What he did say was that it was Fernandez who was behind the attack on our systems and that he planned to get even with Tank for moving in on his woman.

"Did you ever talk to Maria Padilla?" I asked him trying to get a sense of what truth or falsehood he was operating under.

"No need to talk to that cunt. She gave 'Nandez up to the Feds."

I knew she didn't. Fernandez had wrongly assumed she did and beat her brutally for it. It was because she lived through his attack and never wanted to experience his anger again that she sought out Tank to be her personal bodyguard. I hoped the little turd sitting in front of me would tell me where Maria was currently living. I could run a search on her and probably find a relative to tell me, but I knew that Tater knew. And if he knew, chances were pretty good 'Nandez would be able to find out. First order of business: kill Tank; second, kill Maria. Over my dead body were either of those scenarios going to happen. And someting told me I could get him to talk.

"You say she's a cunt but I tink you're protecting her," I said trying to get him to admit to knowing her whereabouts. He was on his third shot at this point and I hoped he was ready to start bragging. "You know 'Nandez would kill her in an instant if he could find her. He'd skin her alive like he's threatening to do to Tank's cat. You're playing this both ways, which _will_ bite you in the ass. We could get her out of the country and protect her without anyone catching on."

It was the truth and he knew enough about our reputation to know it was. I looked over at his empty shot glass. He downed that too quickly. I gathered I hit a nerve.

"Another?" I asked nodding to the empty glass in front of him.

He nodded and I signaled the waitress. I knew I was enabling him but right now I didn't give a shit.

I let him knock back his fourth and then a fifth before I started in on him again.

"You were going to tell me where I can find Maria." I stated as if he'd already divulged that he knew where she was. It was a tactic that usually worked on the scared or inebriated. This turd wasn't scared but by now he was on his way to being shit-faced.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said looking at me as though he were trying to get the two of me to merge into one again.

"Yes you do," I said pointing out his empty glass to the waitress. "Maria Padilla. Not Newark, so I'm assuming the South Bronx."

"Ha. How long do you think it will take you to rattle off every corner where a _Columbian_ could safely hide?"

He gave me my answer. Miami. Although known for its Cuban sector, it was also home to the largest Columbian community in the United States. I had my phone in my hand so I texted Silvio. It was almost 2 am, but I was sure he'd see it in the morning if the buzz of a new text didn't wake him. He was already down there so it would be easiest for him to run the search, although I'd ask Steph to duplicate the effort tomorrow. Maybe better yet, a few of us should pay a trip to Miami. It would get Steph and myself away from Kravin and also allow Steph to collaborate with Silvio. And when we found Maria, Steph would be the perfect person to talk to her.

Once we dropped the turd back in his hood I called Ranger and Steph and left them voicemail messages. I had just gotten back to my apartment and was hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before heading out to relieve Hal and Binkie when my phone rang. It was Raphael.

"Tater just called, he has some other information for us and didn't want to talk over the phone." Shit. Another ride to Newark. I needed at least an hour's sleep, but I figured turdman was still intoxicated and it would be good to go now before the alcohol wore off and he shut up again.

"I'll meet you in the garage in ten," I said to Rafe, thinking a quick shower would have to take the place of a few hours of sleep.

Since 4:30 am was still early by rush hour standards, I made it to Newark in record time. We met in front of the check-cashing place across the street from the bodega where a bunch of bangers hung out. Tater would never let any of us know where he lived and personally I didn't care.

He was already there when we drove up and he motioned for me to open the back door for him. That wasn't exactly a safe practice. Whenever we drove with someone of questionable background, they sat in the front so we could a train a gun on them from behind. So instead of my popping the lock for the little turd, Raphael got out and give his seat to Tater. I then opened the back door for Rafe.

Our meeting didn't take long, he handed me an envelope. A South Bronx address for Maria Padilla-Quiñones was crossed out and a yellow postal sticker was glued on under it. This address was a South Miami one.

"This current?"I asked him.

"As current as a few months ago. Mi hombre works in the post office. He saw her name on the envelope and pulled it. I have not tried to contact her but I kept this in case I needed it someday."

"Thank you."

"My debt to you has been paid. And if 'Nando gets wind of this I'm a dead man.

I'm sure someone saw me get in your car. Now let's go for a short ride so it looks like we're conducting business."

_**Stephanie's POV**_

After breakfast I decided to check my phone and I had both a text and a voicemail message from Hector. The voicemail was sent first and it asked if I'd be able to run a search on a Maria Padilla-Quiñones in the morning. I was about to start on that since it takes a long time to run but something told me to read my text first.

Hector: No need to run the search. I have her address. Feel like a vacation in Miami?

I texted him back: Am I going to see U today?

I got an immediate reply: Be there in 10

I wondered what was going on but instead of waiting for Hector and Rafe to show up I excused myself and went out to the gym to ask Carlos.

We have a locker room with two showers in our gym and as I walked in, Bobby and Carlos came out of the locker room both looking delicious after their showers. What was I doing checking out Bobby? I was engaged to Carlos who makes everyone look inferior. I looked at them again, both shirtless with their hair damp and decided that Bobby was a pretty close second, well along with Lester and Vince. Jeez, I was such a slut. But really, every single man who worked for Carlos was hot.

"Babe?" Carlos asked, probably picking up on my checking them out.

"You guys are so hot," I answered honestly.

"Babe."

"No really. Is that a requirement? I mean you, Bobby, Lester, Vince...the whole lot of you."

"Do I need to be worried Babe?"

"No. You're the hottest. Sorry Bobby. But you're a close second."

Bobby was practically doubled over laughing at this point as he grabbed a T-shirt to hide his perfect six-pack.

"Bomber you are too much. And to what do we owe the honor?"

"I come to the gym sometimes." I said indignantly. "Actually I got a text from Hector asking me if I wanted a Miami vacation. Do you know anything about that?"

I caught Bobby glance at Carlos. Yeah, that was probably one of the things they were up all night 'discussing'. I hated that they did that but I certainly didn't want to be woken at 4 am to get in on a conversation.

"It's Hector's idea, why don't you let him tell you," Carlos said finally.

"I heard my name," Hector said, entering the gym with Raphael. "And what was my idea? How about we go back into the house and I'll tell you everyting I know? It smells like man sweat in here. Not that I have anyting against man sweat," he added, raising his eyebrows in a kind of cute way, "but this place needs a good airing out."

That's what I thought too. A couple of men on treadmills and this gym just stunk to high heaven. Carlos never seemed to notice. We needed a filter or something on the air conditioning unit.

Carlos had stopped to turn the AC to high and open a few windows so I led the parade back to the house. I agreed with Hector; it would need more than an open window to fix the place. The time that Hal, Manny, Tank and Ranger were all in this gym at the same time was enough to make me gag. Today was nothing compared to that and judging by his reaction right now, I was glad that Hector wasn't around for that one.

Once we got back to the house Carlos put on another pot of coffee, brought out fixings for the bagels that were left and we said our goodbyes to Hal and Binkie. It was 'The Hector and Rafe Show' now and they brought us up to speed on this Tater guy. For a gangbanger, he didn't sound like a bad person and he did give Hector Maria's address.

So now this Miami thing was making sense to me. It would put Hec and I far away from Kraven and we'd be helping to bring Tank and Lula home. Well, hopefully. But before I agreed to anything, I needed a timeframe. I didn't want to be away from Carlos for too long and I knew he had a business to run. Taking constant vacations wasn't good for business and Tank was on a forced leave of absence as it was.

"How long?" I asked. If this was weeks I'd say no, days, maybe.

"Well, I don't tink she'll be going anywhere, she has no idea that anyone is looking for her. I tink we can safely leave Tuesday morning so I can go to Mets opening day. When we find her, I want you to talk to her. She listen to another woman, she not listen to me," Hector said, reverting to the pigeon English of his past. I wondered why.

And then I got it, he was nervous that I'd say no. If I said no, there would be no plan.

"So I say yes and we find her," I said opening up a scenario. "We get her to say she wasn't screwing Tank. It's her word against Fernando's. If we can't get him to change his mind about Tank have we moved anything forward? Probably not, but now we've let him know that we've found Maria, so she's no longer safe."

"You are right Chica, but at least we've tried and we'll have you away from Kraven for a few days. How close are we to finding him?"

Carlos took point on that one. "Erik, Eugene and a few teams checked out the recent warehouse rentals in Bergen. All were a bust. They are now moving on to the older properties. We'll find him eventually."

"But what about Maria?" I asked again, "I don't want to put her in danger or have to move her again. I'm sure she already feels like she's on the run."

"Our job is to find Maria. We'll let Tater and Sotolongo handle 'Nandez. Tater knows where she lives so I don't particularly think she's safe where she is anyway. It'll be our job to convince her to either move again or join the witness protection program for a change of identity once she's helped us get 'Nandez behind bars."

"Is that what we're trying to do? Get Fernandez behind bars?"

"He threatened Tank, his pets and his fiancé. He's a repeat felon. We have enough evidence against him to put him away for a long time. Although I tink he's one of those people we hate to put back into the system, he'll never reform and will be after our asses from then on. We probably need to make him disappear."


	9. Chapter 9—Opening Day

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pointing out my flaws.

Chapter 9 — Opening Day

_**Hector's POV**_

I was excited, today was opening day at Citi Field. It was the Mets versus the Nationals and Juan Lagares had just hit a solo home run for us to take the lead when I felt a presence behind me. A knife was pressed over my right kidney.

"Mañoso's asshole. What are you doing here?"

I wasn't sure who it was, but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a reply.

He pushed the point of the knife in a bit, I was sure it was enough to draw blood, before he spoke again.

"I saw you and your bitch with Moreno the other morning. You guys fucking with us?"

Once again I said nothing, but the people around me were starting to notice. Jorge flashed me a look. I gave him an imperceptible nod to back off, I wanted to know who I was dealing with before I acted. Between my own skills and the extra training I got from Maryann White, I could disarm him and have that knife in his jugular before he even knew what was happening.

I'd gotten off with just a slap on the wrist when I killed Kraven's toy in Trenton, but that was because the TPD knew who I was. I didn't think the 5-0 in Queens would be as accommodating but if he shanked me one more time, I'd turn the tables on him.

"You hear me motherfucker?" he whispered before cutting into me a little harder. I knew I was bleeding but I had witnesses, so fuck the 5-0. I turned around, used a hip flick to disarm him and had the knife to his neck. I was about to shank him, when Jorge and Ignacio pulled us apart.

Jorge whispered in my ear, "Don't do it man, it'll be an all out war."

"¿Quién eres?" I asked my attacker who he was now that we were face to face.

He spit at me and before I did anything I'd live to regret, Ignacio had him on the ground and slammed his face into the cement floor of the box we had.

Shit. I looked up at the big screen over the stadium and we were being broadcast live. The video quickly moved to another box but not before the stadium rent-a-cops were on us. Well so much for keeping my presence here a secret. Twenty million viewers just saw my face and probably a bit of the altercation. I figured Bobby and Ashley would be here shortly. I looked towards the door of the box. I was wrong, they were here now. Bobby was talking to one of the rent-a-cops and showing ID and Ashley was walking towards me.

"Hector you're bleeding, do you need to go to the ER?"

"He cut me, but I don't tink he did much damage, I probably need a stitch. Bobby have his medical bag with him?"

"He has one in the car, but you are dripping blood. I think we should have you looked it."

"I'll put compression on it. I'll be ok for a few hours. I need to stay for the rest of the game. We're winning."

I noticed two of the rent-a-cops taking my assailant away. Bobby and the third came over.

"Jorge, Ignacio," he acknowledged my friends. The four of us had spent many a Met's game together. "No charges against you guys, they caught him with the knife. Hector, let me see your back, you're bleeding profusely."

I lifted my shirt, but the cut was lower. I was not going to drop my draws in the middle of Citi Field. Bobby pulled me into the private restroom off our box and made me unbuckle and shimmy down my jeans which were blood soaked and beginning to stick to me.

"Jesus Hec, he cut you in a circle. Your skin is hanging by a flap. Use your shirt and put pressure on the area while I go down to my car. I'll be back in ten. I'm going to have to numb the area to clean it up. And if I think you need to go to the ER don't fight me on this."

I wasn't going...but we'd deal with that later. I placed my shirt over the cut, pulled my pants back up and secured the whole mess using my jacket as a tourniquet. I hoped Bobby had a change of clothes in his car, I didn't think it would be too smart to get on the subway with blood all over me. And probably by the time I made it to Amtrak someone would have called the cops.

I was just about to go back out and sit in the outside seating area of our luxury box and watch the game until Bobby got back when there was a knock on the men's room door. Shit. I hoped no one had to take a crap, there was blood all over the place. I tentatively opened the door. It was Bobby and Ashley.

"Ashley went down to the car and got my bag while I was checking you over. She's going to help me clean you up and stitch you together. You don't mind, do you?"

Of course I minded, but I knew Ashley would be professional about this. She was with Bobby and she was one of our lawyers, so I nodded and let them enter. I just hoped no one had to take a piss for the next twenty minutes or so. Fuck 'em, they could use the ladies room. Chicks were always using the men's room when it wasn't occupied.

I noticed that Ashley brought jeans, a T-shirt and a windbreaker with her too. Bless her. I knew I could rely on Bobby to have extra clothes in his car.

Bobby had me strip again and used my blood soaked clothes to make a wedge under me, I guessed for comfort. Unfortunately the bathroom floor wasn't comfortable. Both of them put on gloves and Bobby took a bottle of sterilized water out of his bag and doused the area. He had Ashley apply pressure to the wound while he gave me a shot of lidocaine. He let the area numb for a few minutes before he got out his peroxide and cleaned me up. He was mumbling something about a dirty blade so I didn't fight him on it. He finally opened a suture kit. I could feel tugging as he stitched, but little else.

"You're lucky he didn't shank you deeper. This is just superficial but it could have been life threatening. Keep it clean. And maybe you want to clean up a bit before going back out, you look pretty scary."

Ashley giggled. I didn't find it funny. I'd _perfected_ scary.

_**Ranger's POV**_

I got a call from Bobby that Hector had been stabbed by one of the Latin Kings. We didn't have a name yet, but the guy had been taken into custody so we'd have a name soon...or a moniker that we'd be able to trace.

I wasn't sure how bad he'd been cut, but I had to let Steph know; after all she was supposed to be heading down to Miami tomorrow with Hector. Depending on how bad it was, I might have to take his place. Bobby would have a shit storm over that one. He hated being in charge even more than Tank did. Maybe Santos could help him out. Or maybe I'd do them both a favor and send Santos to Miami with Steph; Bobby did save Hec's life.

Steph was lying on the couch, watching television in the den. The room was dark except for the illumination from the LED screen. I walked in and sat down next to her. I picked her up and readjusted her onto my lap. We both enjoyed being as close as humanly possible whenever we were alone together. I was playing with her curls absentmindedly until the show was over since I didn't want to disturb her concentration.

"Carlos, what's up? You never just sit and watch mindless TV with me," she said during one of the commercial breaks.

"We can talk when this is over."

She got up on her elbow, turned around and looked at me.

"Something's happened, tell me now," she said, reaching for the remote and turning off the screen.

"Let's go into the kitchen, I'll make you some hot chocolate and we can talk."

"Carlos. Tell me now."

"Over hot chocolate Babe. Trust me."

She didn't protest so I took her hand and led her into the kitchen. I broke up half of the chocolate bar that was in the refrigerator while Steph watched me intently. I knew she'd probably want to eat the other half while I made her cocoa, but I decidedly wrapped it in foil, placed it in a small ziplock and put it back into the refrigerator. I took out the 1% milk I reserve for her and a saucepan. I heated the milk to just about a simmer, then took it off the stove and added the chocolate pieces. I let it sit for a minute while I found a whisk, then whisked the mixture until it was smooth. I added a little vanilla extract, stirred it again and then handed it to Stephanie in a mug. It was the way my grandmother made hot chocolate and I thought it tasted better than any of those artificial mixes.

I watched closely as she took a sip.

"Oh God, this is good," she moaned. Shephanie really enjoys her sweets so I was glad she approved.

I let her take a few more sips before I sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Babe, Hector got cut tonight by a Latin King who thought he and Raphael were trying to cause friction within their gang. Bobby was there and stitched him up. He's going to be ok."

"How did that happen? He went to a baseball game."

"Hector is passionate about baseball and he somehow acquired season tickets in the Pepsi corporate suite with a few of his friends from Newark. Bobby sometimes joins them, but tonight he took Ashley and she wanted to sit in the bleachers. Hector's assault was televised as the cameras panned through the outside seating of the private boxes. Bobby saw it on the big screen and he and Ashley went to his aid."

"Is he ok? How did they find him?"

"He's ok. Bobby just texted me that they're taking him back to Trenton. The cameras regularly pan the boxes; celebrities sit there. I'm sure he was onscreen more than once. This dude probably saw him and went upstairs to make mischief. Bobby thinks he intended to skin him, but didn't cut all the way through so at least there was something to stitch," I saw her wince at that one. I wasn't going to sugar-coat the story, she'd find out the truth and would be angry with me for leaving out details.

"Will he be ok to fly tomorrow?

"Bobby wants to look at him again in the morning. It wasn't deep but he cut through the epidermal layer. It could get infected and Bobby thinks the shank was dirty. He's going to ok him to fly as long as he checks in with our Miami medic. It's your job to make sure he does."

She nodded as if she accepted the challenge. I sure hoped so, the two of them were headstrong and listened to nothing but their own internal musings.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

Hector had sent me a picture of Maria Padilla Quiñones before he left for the game. She was a pretty woman, who looked to be in her late twenties. She had long dark hair and eyelashes I'd kill for. I was looking at her picture again as I packed a few days worth of clothes. Good thing I had most of my summer wardrobe here at the house. We had a nine o'clock NetJets flight out of Monmouth Executive and Carlos was going to drive me to the airport which was only ten minutes away; Bobby was bringing Hector from Trenton. He didn't want him doing anything that might open his stitches, and that included carrying a bag. I was pretty sure that was going to go over _real well_ with Hector.

My phone buzzed just as I compressed everything into my suitcase. It was the man himself.

"How do you tink it feels to have someone carry your bag for you? Good ting no one saw Bobby take my gym bag from my apartment. I'm not taking a lot of clothes; it weighed nothing. The indignity. _You_ understand, don't you Estefania?"

I did.

"I'm sorry Hector, I'm sure it's only because he cares. Did he say it was ok for you to fly?"

"Sí, we got that part over with earlier. This was harder. I had to pretend I forgot someting and went back inside for it while he took my bag down to the car. I'd never live it down if anyone saw us."

Hector had a lot of pride. I was going to have my hands full.


	10. Chapter 10—Miami: Day One

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pointing out my flaws.

A small smut warning for this chapter :)

Chapter 10—Miami: Day One

_**Stephanie's POV**_

It was always hard saying goodbye to Carlos, even if we were only going to be apart for a few days. It made me sad and I guessed it showed.

"Babe?"

"I'm sorry Carlos," I said swiping at the tears that were beginning to pool in my eyes. I hated that he saw my vulnerability. "I'm going to miss you."

"Just a phone call away Babe. I'll call you every night."

"I know. I just wish you were coming with us."

"Bobby's at the end of his rope, if I leave he'll lose it. You'll be fine; Hector's good company. Maybe he'll take you to a club."

"Bobby's not letting him carry a gym bag, you think he's going to release him to dance?"

"He's going to be checking in with Victor. I happen to know he's not as strict as Bobby. If it looks like the wound is beginning to heal, he'll sign off on a little more strenuous activity."

I knew Carlos was just trying to make me feel better. Somehow I didn't think anyone would be releasing Hector to dance in the next few days so I wondered what other options we could have for fun. Maybe he'd go shopping with me or we could take a boat ride to see manatees in the wild. Um, probably not.

"Come on Babe, we have to get going. I don't want your plane to leave without you."

It wouldn't. Rangeman had fractional jet ownership, it was there at our beck and call and James and Argo were piloting our trip today. Hector would never let Argo take off without me. But instead of fighting with him, I grabbed my purse and jacket and followed him out to the car.

I didn't take a lot with me, a few days worth of clothes and some shoes, so I was happy that Carlos was able to fit my bag in the turbo that had somehow appeared overnight. It was my favorite of all his cars, I loved the illumination in the cockpit and the way I sunk into the buttery leather seats that still had lots of support. Not to mention the car had power…lots of power. And if truth be known, I really didn't want to be seen emerging from a big ass Hummer at the airport, that was just wrong.

Once Carlos buckled me in, I made peace with leaving him for a few days. I was going to be staying in his Rangeman apartment in Miami. I was sure the place still smelled like him, even though we hadn't been there in over a month. Unlike Trenton, it had two bedrooms; Hector was staying in the other. I only hoped he didn't ask me to change his bandages; I was pretty sure I'd pass out if I saw how badly he'd been cut.

Once we got to the airport Carlos pulled up to the tarmac. We were flying private and regular rules didn't apply. He killed the engine and we both just sat there for a minute, looking at each other. Carlos reached for me first. He took my hand and played with my engagement ring before he spoke.

"I'll call you tonight and if we hear anything on Kraven, I'll call right away. If you need me, call my cell. It's always with me."

That I knew. And unfortunately I was getting teary again. Those damn female hormones.

"Walk me out to the plane, I don't want the guys watching us say goodbye." Not that they would purposely, but our little black car wasn't inconspicuous. People _always_ looked at it.

He got out, popped the trunk, which is where an engine would be in a normal automobile, and then opened my door for me. We walked to the plane holding hands. The gangplank was down, but we detoured a little to the left of it so he could take me in him arms and give me a proper send off.

Carlos can really kiss and I have to say this was one of his better ones; I felt unsteady on my feet afterwards.

"I'll call you tonight Babe. Have a good trip."

And with that he led me to the gangplank, squeezed my hand and handed me my bag. I climbed the few stairs into the plane while he watched me from the tarmac. It was probably as hard for him to see me leave as it was for me to go. But business called…for both of us.

"Estefania, you made it," Hector said when I popped into the cabin. "Argo was getting impatient and I was ready to take him into the back and relax him," he added with a wink, giving me way too much information.

I knew they had some sort of unorthodox relationship so I asked a question. "Do you want him to stay with us or does he have to get back?"

"He's working until Friday, is it ok if he stays over Friday night? He's booked to take us back to Trenton Saturday morning and I'd hate for him to have to pay for a hotel."

"Hector, if you want him to stay tonight too, it's ok with me. You have your own room."

"He has a flight from Miami to Wisconsin after he drops us off. He's free Friday."

"Argo is more than welcome anytime, you know that. I've been inviting him out to the house in Belmar for the last year and you always have an excuse. He's more than welcome anytime."

"Tank you, he'll stay with us Friday night."

Who was I to argue with Hector? Argo would stay Friday night. Maybe Hec had other men he saw during the week when he was in Florida, or in Trenton for that matter. I loved him but Hector was a hard read.

_**Hector**__**'**__**s POV**_

Estefania asked a lot of questions. My life wasn't as simple as a date here, another date there. Yes, I saw Argo when we could get away together but I picked up men at clubs too...and before you give me shit about that, I _always_ use condoms. And I wasn't going to allow any one man to be a part of my lifestyle right now. She didn't understand; Ranger did. It had been his motto too until her met her and became so infatuated with her that he couldn't live without her. I'm not at that point.

I worked on the new app I was designing during the flight. I needed to get it to some of the men so they could beta it next week, I also didn't want to answer any more questions about my relationship with Argo. I guess Stephanie got the message as I saw her take her iPhone out of her bag along with ear buds. Good. Music was good for the soul.

The flight to Miami was quick: two hours and twenty minutes and it seemed as if we arrived in no time. A Rangeman car was at the tarmac as we deplaned. I couldn't help but notice that the driver was Silvio. His shock of white hair was unmistakable. Estefania caught sight of him too and dropped her bag to run to him. Sometimes she was so child-like; no wonder her and Julie got along so well. I picked up her bag from where it fell over and rolled it behind me. Bobby would be furious, not only was I carrying my own bag, I had Estefania's too.

"¿Qué tal?" I asked Silvio as I got closer to the car. _(What's up?)_

"Nada. ¿Tú? Y no me dan una mierda, lo sé todo sobre el Rey." _(Not much. You? And don't give me shit, I know all about the King.)_

I guessed he'd spoken with Bobby. I didn't want Estefania to feel left out, so I switched to English and told him about the attack.

"Bobby asked that I take you directly to Victor. He was afraid you may have exerted yourself and opened a stitch."

Bobby was anal to a fault. I was fine. And it was then that I felt something wet on the back of my pants. I knew I didn't loose control of my bladder.

"Estefania, is this blood?" I asked at the same time I pulled my hand back from the area with my answer. I was bleeding again. Shit.

"Hector, you're bleeding! How far away are we?" she called out after confirming the spot wasn't urine.

"Put pressure on the area, we'll be there in five," Silvio said calmly from the front seat. Nothing phased him.

Steph took a tampon from her purse, removed it from its wrapper, then took it out of the plunger. "Hector, use this," she said handing it over. I guess I made a face.

"What? It's clean and it's cotton. You think it's better to apply pressure with a dirty sock? It's not going to hurt you. Take it or I'll do it for you."

Jeez. Let's just say this was the first and last time I was going to hold a tampon. Well at least it wasn't a pad. I undid my belt buckle and popped the button on my cargos. I slid my hand containing the tampon back towards my wound and I applied pressure. Getting rid of this was going to be problematic.

We arrived at Rangeman a minute or so later. I supposed Silvio texted Victor because he was waiting in the lobby as we approached.

"My infirmary, now," he ordered as soon as he spotted me. Estefania already had my gym bag so I followed Victor to the elevator.

He asked me to strip and get on his table. In order to do that I had to relinquish the pressure I was applying to the area, so I pulled the tampon out and looked for someplace to dispose of it.

Unfortunately Victor saw it in my hand. "Got your period, Hector?"

"Fuck you. Stephanie gave it to me," I added hoping that would be enough of an answer. It wasn't.

"So now you girls are sharing tampons?"

If we weren't friends and I hadn't known that Victor had a wicked sense of humor, I would have been offended. But there he was, bent over at the waist, laughing hysterically at his own joke and certainly in no condition to look at my wound.

"Hey, asswipe," I said to get him to pay attention to me, "I could bleed to death over here, get off the floor and tell me what's going on."

"I'm sorry Hector," he said, trying to catch his breath, "I couldn't pass that up, you have no idea how funny it was watching you pull a tampon out of your pants..."

"Enough."

I had indeed popped a couple of stitches, probably when I bent over to pick up Estefania's bag. Unfortunately Victor wasn't able to re-stitch them since they had already started to heal. Instead he fitted the area with strong steri strips to hold the wound together, then covered the area with a large water-proof bandage. I had the feeling people would be using this as an excuse to keep me on light duty and I wasn't too happy about it.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

I was sitting with Silvio in his cubicle catching up on things, when Hector reappeared from Victor's infirmary. He didn't look too happy which made me wonder how much damage he'd done.

"Don't ever offer me a tampon again, or I'll make you disappear," he tried for serious, but couldn't hold back the grin. By the time he was done with his story, Silvio and I were both on the floor in tears. God, I wished I saw that in person.

We had an address so we really didn't need to find Maria Padilla, but we did need a little more information on her before we ventured out to try to talk to her.

Silvio took us to the server room where the three of us could spread out with our laptops and try to amass information. We needed to know where she worked, what make and model of car she drove and if we got lucky, whether or not she was currently in a relationship.

The first two were easy. She worked as a waitress in a Columbian hot dog joint: Los Perros, in Hialeah. She'd held that job for just about a year, so chances were good she'd be in work tomorrow. MDDMV had a blue 2004 Toyota Camry registered at the same address we currently had for her. We had the make, model and plate numbers. Good, our luck was increasing.

It would be harder to find out if she lived alone or was in a relationship with anyone. We'd have to talk to her neighbors and chances were good they'd let her know they had been interrogated. Nope, two out of three was all we were going to get today.

That took a few hours, we never broke for lunch and my stomach was starting to rebell. Both Hector and Silvio looked over at me when the long growl escaped.

"Hungry, Steph?" Silvio asked, looking up with a grin on his face.

No, I can't imagine why you'd even think that; of course I was hungry.

"I had Lynn make reservations for the three of us tonight at Perricone's Marketplace. I asked for an outside table at seven. I'm sure we'll get it, Lynn is very persuasive. Will a fruit and nut bar hold you over, Steph?" he asked pulling some Kind bars from a cabinet as he spoke.

That was very sweet of him but I was starving now and a health bar just wasn't going to cut it.

"Pizza?" I asked, scrunching up my nose at the bar in front of me.

"How about we compromise and leave here at five. It's a nice place and I think you'll enjoy yourself. I'll ask Lynn to change the reses."

I could tell he really wanted to take us there, so I opened up the bar in front of me and took a bite.

"Ok. Not bad," I added once I had a chance to taste the dried fruit and nuts.

Our dinner was fine; more than fine, but it felt like a place Carlos would take me to and that made me miss him all over again. We got back to Rangeman around nine; I couldn't imagine what time we'd have gotten back if we kept the seven o'clock reservation. I took a quick shower and checked my messages. Carlos had called twice. I also had a text message from him, 'Is everything ok?'

Instead of texting him back I called. He answered on the first ring, sounding somewhat relieved. I brought him up to speed on Maria, then told him about Hector and the tampon. Something seemed off with him, it wasn't something I could put my finger on like he was distracted by work or testy clients. No it was something else, he barely chuckled at Hector's incident.

"Carlos, is everything ok?" I asked repeating his text to me.

"Is Hector with you or are you by yourself?"

"I'm by myself in your bedroom..."

"_Our_ bedroom."

"Sorry, _our_ bedroom."

"Lock the door Babe." What?

I got up and did as I was told, when I got back to the bed there was an alert and an image in a text message from Carlos on my screen. I opened it to see what he was sending me since the 1/4" square was vague. It was a selfie. And not just any selfie. There was a pretty impressive nine inches that I'd recognize anywhere staring me in the face. Oh my God.

"Carlos?"

"I've been thinking about you."

Obviously.

Another text alert. Another picture. His hand on the impressive nine inches stroking himself. Holy shit that was hot.

"What are you wearing Babe?"

But before I even answered, another request. "Take it off." His voice was now deep and sexy.

"I want you to take off your shirt first and expose your neck to me. I know you like it when I kiss your neck. Is your neck exposed?"

Somehow I was mesmerized by his voice and very turned on. I did as asked and removed my shirt. The cold air conditioning in the room immediately made my nipples hard.

"Carlos my nipples are hard for you," I said, getting in to the act.

"Take off your bra."

I did.

"Lick your finger and run it over your right nipple."

Again I did as I was asked. I moaned as the sensations of touching myself made their way straight to my doodah. Carlos groaned on the other end of the phone and continued his conversation.

"I miss your taste, Babe. Do you like it when I finger your cunt?"

Oh God.

"Carlos, I love when you touch me," I whispered back, almost breathless.

"Take off you pants and touch yourself over your panties," he requested again.

I did. I couldn't hold back another moan as I touched myself; I was already very wet.

My phone buzzed with a message again. I picked it up just knowing it was another picture from Carlos.

It was.

Again his hand on his very erect dick. His finger moistening the tip using his own pre-cum.

Be still my heart. I had an idea. I'd never done this before, but I knew Carlos would like it. I took off my now ruined panties, parted my legs and took a picture. I hit send before I had a chance to change my mind.

I heard the ping through the phone that he'd received my text.

"Beautiful, Babe," he said, his voice sounding labored. "Touch yourself for me, I want to hear you moan as you finger your clit. You know how you like it. Touch yourself for me, Babe. Fuck yourself with your fingers."

"Carlos, I'm getting close."

"Come for me Babe. Rub your clit with your thumb and fuck yourself for me. I want to hear you come."

"Carlos," I let out as I came. "Oh God."

"Babe," I heard, his voice a little trembly. Because I know Carlos, I knew he came too. It was quiet for a few seconds. "I love you, Babe. Sweet dreams," this came out deep and throaty.

"I love you too, Carlos."

"Tomorrow, Babe. Get some sleep."

"You too."

I heard the click of his line disconnecting, but not before I heard him say, "I wish you were lying next to me."


	11. Chapter 11—On Top of the World

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for pushing me to post this chapter on time. Margaret, I love your pushing—keep it up.

Chapter 11—On Top of the World

_**Stephanie's POV**_

I woke up feeling particularly alone. I mean I knew Hector was in the other room but I seriously missed waking up next to Carlos. I had gone to bed with my phone nearby so when I reached for it to text him a good morning I was surprised to find two new texts from him. No, there weren't any additional photos.

Ranger: 4:38 am: 'Morning Babe. Going to the gym to see if I can get you off my mind'

Ranger: 8.02 am: 'I'm flying down. See if Lynn can move Hector to a hotel'

Oh shit, Bobby was going to go ballistic. I hoped Carlos had at least asked Les to help Bobby with rotations. For as crazy and flirtatious as he was, Les was pretty organized and, if you asked me, usually got away with doing anything that required sitting behind a desk for too long. So I did two things simultaneously, I texted Carlos and I threw on a robe before going out to see if Hector was still here.

StephPlum: 'I'm not sending Hector to a hotel. He's injured and needs TLC. And he's in his own room!'

"Hector, are you here?" I asked, knocking on his door lightly. No answer. He was injured so he wouldn't be in the gym. Or would he? Hector followed his own rules.

I picked up the intercom and called the front desk.

"Rangeman, Miami. Carl here. How may I help you?"

"Hi Carl, it's Steph. Did you happen to see Hector this morning?" "He did? Was he by himself?"

Hector went out. I was about to text him to find out where he was, when the intercom buzzed. It was Carl again.

"Hey Steph. Hector just came back into the building carrying a large bag. If I had to guess, I'd say he's bringing up breakfast."

My hero.

I still hadn't taken a shower, but that could wait if Hec had indeed brought food. There was a knock on the door before Hector used the extra key fob I gave him last night to let himself in.

"Estefania, I expected you to still be sleeping. I was going to try to lure you out with the smell of Egg McMuffin sandwiches and coffee. McDonald's was the only thing in walking distance."

"Thank you Hector, you are a sweetheart."

"I'm a bad ass; but you're welcome."

I took out plates and forks while Hector pulled the McMuffins and coffees from the bag.

"Egg White Delight McMuffin?" I asked looking at the wrapper of the sandwich Hec took for himself.

"I got you Bacon, Egg and Cheese, leave me alone."

"Mmmm. Carlos is on his way here," I said making breakfast conversation after I took my first bite.

"Has something come up that we don't know about?"

"No, he just misses me and the gym wasn't doing it for him."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," I said, purposely popping the 'p'.

"Shit. No disrespect but I never thought I'd see his ass _this_ pussy-whipped."

"He's not _pussy-whipped_ Hector," I said emphatically, standing up and waving my arms to prove my point. "I didn't _ask_ him to come down."

It was true. I was certainly glad he was coming to see me but I'd never ask him to just get up and leave his managerial responsibilities to someone else. It wasn't as if he was going off on a mission he couldn't refuse. God, now I felt bad. Wondered if the guys saw him as _pussy-whipped _too?

"Yes," Hector said.

"What?"

"You asked. I'm telling you yes. They tink Tank is too."

"Well Lula _can_ be demanding but I'm not like that."

"You have him wrapped around your little finger. He'd do anyting for you."

I was getting mad. I really hoped that the guys hadn't lost their respect for Carlos. I mean I knew he'd softened a little but he was still one scary dude when he wanted to be.

"Hector? They still respect him, don't they?"

"Of course they do. They see him as a great leader."

I felt better.

"A great leader that's temporarily stopped leading. I tink they see that he's more interested in claiming the fair maiden right now, but once he has her squared away in his big-ass castle he'll be back leading the hunt for boar."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"He's infatuated with you and he's mentally giving himself a much needed holiday. He's worked very hard all these years. We forgive him."

I was glad they did but I didn't like the way that sounded. It made me out to be some sort of manipulating bitch. I wasn't. I'd gotten training, gun certifications and everything. I wasn't in over my head anymore. I didn't need Carlos to rescue me like some _damsel in distress_, to add to Hec's metaphor.

"Stop," he said, reading my mind. "Don't beat yourself up, everybody loves you and they want to see the bossman happy. He goes easier on everybody when he's happy."

My phone buzzed with another text.

Ranger: 'I'm on a 9:30 flight. Be there by noon. I made us 1:00 lunch reservations at Juvia. Ernesto's parking my Mercedes at the airport so I'll pick you up around 12:30'

StephPlum: 'What do I wear?'

Ranger: 'They say smart casual. I have on beige khakis and a white shirt. I'm not changing'

StephPlum: 'Sundress?'

Ranger: 'Pretty'

StephPlum: 'Ok, I'll be ready by 12:30'

Ranger: 'Ok'

I smiled to myself and turned back to Hector. I guessed he was right, Carlos was still pursuing me. "Carlos is picking me up around 12:30 to take me to..." I glanced down at my phone to check the name of the place, "...Juvia's."

"What did I just tell you?"

"That he's pursuing me before he leads the men to hunt boar. I hope there's no boar on the menu or I won't be able to stop laughing."

Hector had his phone in his hand and had probably googled the restaurant when I gave him the name.

"No boar, but this is an expensive place. Great views of the city. Look!" he said handing me his phone. God the place was pretty.

"I better start getting ready. We weren't going to try to visit Maria today, were we?" I asked as an afterthought, probably mixed in with a little bit of guilt.

"Silvio and I will go check out her workplace. I'll try to get her hours and hopefully we can talk to her tonight or tomorrow depending on her schedule. Go to lunch. Have a good time. I tink you're supposed to _enjoy_ your engagement."

I cleaned up and put all the dirties in the dishwasher before heading back to our master suite to take a shower and get ready. I really loved that this was a two bedroom, two bath apartment.

After I finished washing, shampooing, conditioning, shaving, exfoliating and buffing to my high standards, I got out, did my hair and put on a few coats of mascara. This was Florida, I didn't need anything more, although I still looked pale compared to everyone around me. Mental note: get some sun.

I opened the closet and looked for something to wear. A dress with the tags still on it stood out. I knew I didn't buy it, but it was my size. It was a sleeveless tank dress with a bit of a flared skirt in old-school Japanese indigo stencils, the top a different pattern than the bottom. It was in the blue tones that I knew Carlos loved on me, so I tried it on. It had a thin sash at the waist and as soon as I tied it, I knew it was perfect. I had either Ella or Carlos to thank and something told me Ella. I paired it with the four-inch high ankle-strap wedge sandals that I left here the last time we were down and I went out to the kitchen to cut off the tags.

I got a wolf-whistle from Hector who was sitting at the dining room table with three laptops.

"You look beautiful Estefania. The bossman's not going to be able to take his eyes off of you. Do you want help with those tags?"

He asked at the right moment. I was either going to have to take the scissors back to the bedroom and take the dress off, or I'd need a second set of hands. The second set would be faster and it was already 12:20.

"Thank you Hector," I said as he cut the plastic cord that held the price tag and labels as close to the material as possible. At some point I'd have to remove the other half that was digging into my skin, but that could wait.

My phone buzzed with another text.

Ranger: 'I'm pulling up in front of the building now. R U ready?'

StephPlum: 'I'll be right out'

I grabbed my regular bag that was unintentionally the same color as the dress and I went out to the elevators. By the time I made it down to the lobby, Carlos was in front of the reception desk talking to Herb, Lynn's husband and the building manager.

His eyes dilated black when he saw me and before I knew what was happening, his arms were around me and his lips were crashing down on mine. And once again this was in front of some of the guys. Maybe Hector had a point with his thoughts about Carlos' need to 'claim the fair maiden'. His lips had certainly claimed mine.

"Is this new?" Carlos asked, taking in my dress once again.

"I found it in the closet. The tags were still on. If you didn't put it there, I guess Ella sent it down."

"It's beautiful. You look beautiful. I can't wait to take it off you," he added in a whisper.

"Carlos!"

"Ready for lunch Babe?"

I nodded and he led me out to the black Mercedes SL roadster, which already had the retractable hardtop down.

"Beautiful day for a drive Carlos," I said looking up at the sky as he put the car into gear.

"Its only about fifteen minutes away but we could take a drive after lunch if you're still up for one."

Hmm. Courting? I didn't say anything, I was just going to let the day play out as it may. As Carlos drove he put his hand on my thigh and squeezed. It felt like he wanted to be close. Who was I to complain, I loved being close to Carlos. In fact my whole mood changed after learning he was coming down to Miami to be with me. I still had a job to do, but I was a little less interested in talking to Maria and a little more interested in playing with Carlos. I knew this wouldn't last, his wanting to be so close was probably a phase; so I'd made up my mind to go along with any and everything that happened these next few days.

"Babe? Is something troubling you?" he asked, breaking into my thoughts.

"No not really, it was just something Hector said. I'm trying to make sense of it."

"Concerning Maria Padilla?"

"No concerning you and your sudden need to come down here."

"I told you Babe, I couldn't get you off my mind. Having a perpetual hard-on is not exactly comfortable."

I had to smile at that one. I figured it wasn't. Then the words just popped out of my mouth. "Do you have one now?"

Ranger took my hand and I guessed I was about to find out. It landed on his inner thigh and it kept moving up. Yep, he was hard. I could do something about it, but we were probably minutes away from the restaurant, I didn't have any tissues with me and let's say light colored slacks show every little stain. Hmm, dilemma.

"Will you be ok with this little problem?" I asked, "or do you want me to do something about it."

"It's not a _little_ problem, but put on a 'talk radio' station and that should take care of it."

Yeah, I knew what he meant; if it weren't Howard Stern it would probably be boring enough to to the job. I played around with the radio and finally found someone comparing RBIs—that would do the trick for me. And at least I wasn't with Hector who would be excited about it and probably have a running commentary and stats of his own to add.

I pulled away from Carlos completely and upped the volume. If this didn't work, I want sure what to do next since it looked like Carlos was slowing down in front of a parking garage on Lincoln Road.

"You can turn it off Babe, I'm under control," he grinned me a 250-watter. Carlos pointed out that the restaurant was located on the rooftop just as a valet came over to take the car from Carlos, probably excited to drive it, and we walked to the entrance holding hands.

An elevator took us up to the rooftop and we exited into the pretty main room that Hector showed me earlier. We were met by the maître d' and led to an outdoor table under an overhang. Since it was spring and not too hot to be outside just yet, we and our fellow diners were treated to exquisite views of Miami from our tables.

Carlos ordered us each a glass of Gros Plant, a recommend from our waiter that paired well with crustaceans, so I had the distinct feeling that he was done with work for the day. Maybe an after-lunch ride or a walk on the beach _was_ a possibility.

The menu was Asian/French fusion, so I ordered their Chilean sea bass with maple-glazed eggplants, heart of palm and basil soy butter. Carlos got a mango, papaya and cucumber salad, a butter-poached king crab nigiri and ordered rock shrimp with aji aioli and cilantro as an appetizer for us to share.

Our wine came right away. "Here's to us Babe," he said, clinking glasses.

I took a sip. It was very dry, but had a nice flavor to it. I could see it going well with our appetizer of rock shrimp, which came a few minutes later.

The portion was small, but then again it was the appetizer.

Carlos used the seafood fork to spear one of the shrimp, dip it in the aioli sauce and bring it to my lips. I took a bite; it was heavenly. I must have moaned because the couple at the next table turned to look at us. We made believe there was no one around but each other and Carlos fed me another bite of shrimp. Once he put the fork down, I picked it up and did the same, spearing one, dipping it into the sauce and feeding it to him. It was a combination of yum factors.

I looked down at my wine glass and it was almost empty, I guessed I didn't realize I had been taking sips. "Would you like another with lunch?"

"Will you be able to drive?"

"Babe."

I guessed that answered my question, Carlos was good with two glasses of wine; it was me that was the lightweight.

Our second glass and lunch arrived at the same time. Both were exceptional; my sea bass done perfectly and it looked like Carlos was enjoying his salad and crab nigiri but unfortunately we were done in no time.

It was then that Carlos took my hand.

"Babe, have you checked your Rangeman email lately?"

"Uh no, I thought it was still under lock and key."

"Hector made yours and mine available; you got a present from Kraven."

Fuck.


	12. Chapter 12—From the Heart

Chapter 12 — From the heart

_**Stephanie's POV**_

At first I was numb. I'd figured that Kraven knew I worked at Rangeman full-time and was no longer bounty hunting, but I didn't expect him to up his game and send me an email directly. He'd been sending them to Carlos until now.

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not, but knowing you if I'd deleted it you'd be mad at me; it's still in your inbox."

My iPad was in my bag so I took it out and opened my Rangeman email. I saw Kraven's ridiculous 666K email address and opened my present from Satan.

'Good morning Ms. Plum. Since your boyfriend doesn't seem to be sharing the pictures I've sent him, I've decided to take it upon myself to show you my plan for you. You're not going to be able to avoid me forever and this is my latest purchase.'

There was an attachment, so I looked over to Carlos before I clicked on it. He nodded then grimaced.

What was on my screen hadn't been Photoshopped with my head like some of his other 'masterpieces' but it had clearly been used, as a pool of what looked like dried blood had hardened on and under a cage the size of a human body — one that wore sharp metal spikes on the _inside_.

He was a sick individual and I wasn't going to let him get to me.

"Do you think he's actually used this recently? We would have heard, wouldn't we?"

"I think he's playing with you and he'll do anything to get a reaction and this is one of the reasons I came down here. He's getting more aggressive."

"Has he sent one to Hector too?"

"Not yet, but I suspect if you ignore him, he will. I think he's a expecting a reply; don't give him one."

It would only take a single tap of my finger to tell him just what I thought of him and his stupid games but Carlos was right, he was baiting me.

"What about you? Did he send you anything new?"

"Looks like it's just you this time Babe."

_**Ranger's POV**_

Stephanie looked dispirited. I supposed she was under the assumption that once she was out of Trenton his emails would stop. It doesn't work that way. And how would he even know that she was out of town? I wasn't going to sugarcoat the truth. He was a dangerous man and if he indeed managed to grab her again, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get to her in time. I know he seemed to like to play with his prey before finishing them off, but something told me he would act quickly with my woman. Not something I wanted to dwell on.

And I supposed my timing was off too. I had wanted to wine, dine and romance her before telling her about Kraven, but apparently I'd left out the third step in my equation. Not that Stephanie seemed to notice, but I did. Now I'd have to start all over again, and getting Hector out of the apartment would be problematic—I'd caught wind of the three laptops he had set up. Maybe we could take a trip to Siesta Key for a few days. I needed her to know that she was safe and well loved.

"Babe, how would you like to get away for a few days?"

"You mean after we talk to Maria?"

I actually meant now. Hector and Silvio could take care of Maria on their own, but I understood Steph's sense of duty. And one more day wouldn't make a difference.

"When do you plan to talk to her?"

"Silvio and Hector were going to get her schedule and depending on her hours, either tonight or tomorrow."

Shit. So much for romance if it were tonight.

"Then let's head out as soon as we can after you talk to Maria,"

"Does Kraven know I'm here? Is that was this is about?"

"No Babe. This is about me needing to be with you. I told you last year I wanted to romance you and I don't feel like I've been doing a very good job with that. You deserve more."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You give me a lot. Our sex life couldn't be better..."

"That's not romance."

"We have a beautiful house on the shore..."

"That's not romance either Babe, it's a roof over our heads..."

"Yeah, a palatial one."

"Yes, it's big and it's beautiful, but that's not what I'd call romance. Three days at a private resort on Siesta Key with the whitest sand in the world, a personal chef during the day and dinner and dancing options you'd only find in exclusive areas of the world. Three days with nothing but each other. What do you say Babe?"

"Tell me again. You want to do this why?"

"Because I love you and you deserve it."

"I love you too Carlos. Isn't Bobby going to be upset with you?"

"He'll get over it. He and Ashley are planning two weeks in Paris next month. All the men seem to take vacation time but me." I could see her hesitating. "Yes or no, Babe?"

"Yes, of course, I was just trying to figure out why. And why now?"

"I told you. You deserve more. Can I ask Ella to go shopping for you and send some things down? I know you just packed for a couple of days at Rangeman."

I could see the wheels turning. She was about to tell me she had clothes in the apartment here. Yes she did but I wanted to buy her some new things. It was part of romancing my woman.

"I'm not going to win, am I Carlos?"

"Win what? This isn't a competition."

"I feel guilty when you spend so much money on me..."

"Don't. I have it to spend and I want to spend it on you. Nothing makes me happier."

"Ok then, do you know where you want to go? Can you show me some pictures?"

"I'd rather surprise you. If I tell you that the place is similar to the resort we stayed at on Hawaii, would that be enough for you?"

"That place was beautiful. I think I really fell in love with you there..."

"Likewise Babe. I didn't want it to end." Fucking Morelli, at least this time no one would interrupt us. I also realized that I'd changed a lot since then. I manned up and went after what I really wanted. Establishing a relationship would always come with bad timing-but I just couldn't stay away from Stephanie, no matter how hard I'd tried. So now I owe it to myself _and her_ to show her just how much she means to me.

I pulled out my phone but didn't want to put any words in her mouth. So before I made the call that I'd had on my contacts list for a while, I asked once more for clarity, "Deal?"

"Deal."

Without hesitation I let the phone dial and when someone picked up, I made a reservation. We had a 3 pm check in tomorrow and a four-hour drive ahead of us. Of course I'd secured the room on my Amex Card so they'd hold it for us even if we were late. Now I'd just have to put pressure on Silvio and Hector to get Stephanie back as early as possible. I immediately placed another call.

"Santiago," I said when Hector answered, "timeframe?"

"The Padilla woman is working two to ten today. I tought we'd head over between three and four before the dinner rush. Is Steph with you?"

"Where else would she be? We're on our way."

I relayed what I learned to Steph, paid the bill and we headed out. We'd be back at Rangeman before three and it looked like I'd be able to make reservations for tonight and try once more to romance my woman.

My woman. I liked the way that sounded. My _wife_? I liked the way that sounded too. And I'd make her my wife before the year was up. Ella had recently asked me if we'd thought about a wedding. I knew she wanted to make us a party but I'd yet to have this discussion with Steph. Maybe it was something we'd talk about over the next few days. We'd told my family and the Plums that we were going to get married at our house, so if we really intended to do that this year, we'd need to start planning now. I just hoped Steph wouldn't go into overwhelm at the thought.

I let my thoughts go back to the flesh and blood Stephanie on my right as we pulled into the Rangeman garage.

"I'd like to try again," I said to her, taking her hand.

"Try what Carlos?"

"I'd wanted to wine and dine you, then sweep you off your feet."

"I had a nice lunch," she said innocently, "and we had wine too," she added.

"And then I turned into an ass and brought up Kraven. Can I take you to dinner tonight? I promise no Rangeman talk and no crazies."

She looked at me like she couldn't believe what I was asking.

"Just us?"

"Just us Babe."

"Ok, but why do I think you have a hidden agenda?" she mumbled, probably not realizing she said that out loud.

"My agenda isn't hidden. Wine you, dine you, get you naked," I wolf-grinned, then winked at her.

She looked stupefied as I got out of the car then opened her door for her.

"I need to stop thinking out loud," she mumbled, letting me help her up.

I found it endearing so I wasn't going to comment on that one. She probably wouldn't be able to stop anyway; it was engrained in her personality. Dios, I loved this woman.

_**Stephanie's POV**_

Sometimes I really wondered about him. Right now was one of those times. Jeez, he could be so annoying. Anyway he couldn't seem to get enough of me which was stifling on its own, but this idea he had in his head about not romancing me enough was just silly. We went out to dinner at least twice a week although some of the time it was under the watchful gaze of a couple of men in black, but at least we went out. And do I even need to mention the sex? Oh my God, what that man can do to me in the bedroom...and the shower, and oh God again, even the kitchen counter.

"Stephanie? Did you hear me?" Ranger asked breaking my concentration.

"What?"

"I just told you that Hector said he's been texting you. Have you checked your texts lately?"

"I'm sorry, no. Let me look. Oh shit. Carlos, they're ready to go and I'm dressed like I'm going out on a date. I need to change."

"Why? You look fine to me Babe."

"These shoes are too high and this dress is too expensive looking. Keep Hector and Silvio company for a few minutes while I find something more appropriate," I said as the elevator came to my rescue.

Carlos was texting away.

"They'll pick you up out front in ten minutes. Silvio went for gas."

"Is Hector still upstairs," I asked. If he wasn't I'd start stripping in the foyer. Ten minutes wasn't enough time for a transformation.

"He's with Silvio. Want me to hold your shoes so you can run?" he asked, obviously ESPing me.

"I'm good, just make the elevator go faster."

"This is as fast as it goes Babe."

Carlos fobbed us in and I made a beeline for the closet in our bedroom. I knew I'd packed some black Gap slacks and a color-block tee. They'd have to do and I'd just switch out to the wedges I wore on the plane. There, that'd be fine. At least I wouldn't scare Maria off.

I came out eight minutes later transformed. I'd even pulled my hair back into a ponytail and added a little lip gloss. I was ready to go. I kissed Carlos goodbye and called for the elevator, which was still on our floor. Guessed no one used it but me.

When I got down to the lobby, I waved hi to Carl and then stood by the front door. Silvio and Hector pulled up ten seconds later.

I got in the back and we pulled away from the building even before I had my seat belt buckled. Wondered what the hurry was. Wasn't she working until ten tonight?

"What's the rush?"

"Her neighbor just called in a suspicious activity to MDPD. Maria's apartment was tagged with a crown. The Kings knows she's here."

"Shit. Does she know yet?"

"Rangeman just picked it up on the scanner, I doubt she knows anything. Her neighbor didn't even know her name which tells me we have time to get there and talk to her before the police arrive," Hector told me while Silvio drove.

"So how do we want to handle this," I asked. The prior plan was for me to talk to Maria by myself. I mean I could still do that but it might be easier if the three if us went in with our Rangeman IDs first.

"We go in together," Hector said, reading my thoughts. "We don't have time for small talk, we need to move her. I have the keys to a safe house in Coral Gables."

"Ok good. That was what I was hoping. But if you want me to take the lead, I can."

"Yes. She'll be mistrusting of us, we need you to gain her trust. You have five minutes."

"Gee thanks guys."

"You're welcome."

Silvio parked right in front. The place was empty except for one patron finishing up his hot dog. The woman behind the counter looked very much like the picture I had in my purse.

"Hector, is that Maria?" I asked just to make sure.

"Sí, and we're right behind you."

I walked up to the counter and ordered three hot dogs. I mean that's what I did with Lula all the time and it was a great conversation starter. _Usually_. When she turned around to put them on the grill, I spoke.

"Maria Padilla Quiñones?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm Stephanie Plum and I work at Rangeman with these two guys behind me," I said offering up my ID. "We have reason to believe someone is after you and we want to help you stay safe."

"What?"

"Your apartment was just tagged by the Latin Kings, they know that you're living in Florida now. My partner Hector Santiago," I said bringing Hector closer to the counter, "spoke with Tater Moreno the other day. Antonio Fernandez is looking for you and Pierre Sherman."

"Tank? What does Tank have to do with this?"

"Tank is second-in-command at Rangeman, the company we work for, and he's engaged to one of my closest friends. I'm speaking the truth. Silvio, Hector, back me up."

"Sí," Hector began in Spanish, reiterating what I hoped was the whole story.

Maria looked stunned. "Does he know where I work?" she asked in English, looking from Hector to me.

"I don't know," I replied, "but we'd like to get you to a safe place until we know for sure that it wasn't a random tagging," I told her.

"I work till ten tonight, I can't leave."

"We can ok this with your boss," I said, "do you have a way to reach him? Unfortunately they could be right on our tail, so we need to get you someplace safe pretty quickly."

She handed me a card with the owner's name and number and I pulled out my phone.

"Mr. Lozano?" I asked when a man answered, "this is Stephanie Plum from Rangeman..." "No your restaurant hasn't been robbed," I interrupted him, telling him what we knew and asking if someone could cover for Maria for a few days.

"You say Antonio Fernandez has targeted her?"

"Yes. The Inca of the New York/New Jersey Kings," I told him again.

"I know Antonio Fernandez. Yes, I can cover for Maria; just get her someplace safe. I can be there in twenty minutes."


	13. Chapter 13—The Intruder

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to Margaret once again for reading ahead and pushing me to post :) Thank you Margaret.

And a great big Happy Fourth of July to everyone! Enjoy the fireworks wherever you are :)

Chapter 13—The Intruder

_**Stephanie's POV**_

"That went well," I said to Silvio as we drove back to Rangeman. Hector was in the back this time. His wound was hurting and Maria and I finally convinced him to take a painkiller. He was as bad as dealing with a two-year old; every other word was 'no'. But at least we had an opportunity to tell her the whole story and settle her in. Lynn and a couple of the guys were going to stop by her apartment later and pick up some clothes and things and bring them to her via a roundabout route. Even if someone were watching, they wouldn't be able to follow. And since Maria was pretty shaken up, Lynn volunteered to stay with her tonight.

So finally I was on my way back to Carlos. Wondered how he was coping with me being gone for so long? Only one way to find out—I whipped out my phone and texted him.

STEPHPLUM: 'On my way. U ok?'

RANGER: 'I'm fine. Maria ok?'

STEPHPLUM: 'Yeah, Hector showed her his stab wound'

RANGER: 'You're shitting me, right?'

STEPHPLUM: 'Nope. But it did the trick. She's going to stay in the house until we've eliminated the threat'

RANGER: 'That could take a while, she's ok with that?'

STEPHPLUM: 'Her boss is covering for her and she won't lose her job. Both he and she understand what all this means. We promised her a throwaway phone though, she's afraid to use hers now. Lynn's going to bring her one this evening'

RANGER: 'Glad Lynn got involved. Where R U?'

STEPHPLUM: '5 minutes away'

RANGER: 'Good. We have 8:00 dinner reservations'

STEPHPLUM: 'You're not giving me a lot of time'

RANGER: 'Babe'

Obvious end of conversation.

I shoved my phone back in my bag and turned around to see how Hector was doing. He was sound asleep.

I took a sneak armpit sniff as I turned back to face forward. I hoped wherever we were going to dinner was close by. I really needed a shower before I went out again. It was hot and sweaty at the hot dog place and I was nervous that Maria would say no. I sweat a lot when I'm nervous.

As we pulled into the garage at Rangeman I leaned over the seat to nudge Hec.

"Hey, wake up. We're back."

"Madre de Dios. You scared the shit out of me. Gentle next time."

"I'm sorry Hector. We're here."

"Ok. I need to stop at Victor's, I tink I'm bleeding again."

"Do you need help? I can ask Carlos..."

"I'm good, but can you text Victor for me while I wake up?"

I did. He wanted Hector to go directly to his infirmary. He would meet him there.

Once we parked and locked up the car the three of us took the elevator up. Hector got off on two, Silvio four and I went up to seven. Carlos was in the hallway waiting for me.

"Proud of you Babe. You did a really nice thing today," he said before pulling me into his arms and crashing his lips down on mine. And yeah, tongue was involved—_lots_ of tongue. "I know you want to take a shower, the water's running. I'd join you but then we'd never leave."

I was pretty sure the cameras caught all of that. And I was really glad we didn't have sound, bad enough the kiss was going to spread like wildfire. I was expecting a text from Santos in three, two, one…ding. My phone buzzed with a new incoming text. Yep, it made it around that quickly.

LES: 'That was HOT and it's gone viral'

STEPH: 'Oh no. Just within Rangeman?'

LES: 'Nope. Someone posted it to Facebook'

STEPH: 'Fuck. It's going to be all over the Burg'

LES: 'And Miami, and Atlanta, and Boston'

STEPH: 'We should have thought about the cameras. Can u delete it for me?'

LES: 'I'll try but you should ask Hector. He's the master'

STEPH: 'Thank u. I'll ask Hec 2. Gotta go. I have a date:)

I took a quick shower, being careful not to get my hair wet since it took so long to tame and Carlos was only giving me an hour in total to get ready. I got my curls to behave and then I put on a few coats of mascara. Aside from clothes, I was as ready as I'd ever get. I walked into our closet to see what I could wear at the same time texting Hector to see if he could remove the video that was circulating. He texted me back that it was already done and he'd also removed it from Roland's Facebook page. I didn't know Roland very well, but I had a feeling he'd be sporting bandages in the near future.

I looked around the closet and couldn't help but notice a couple of new dresses that weren't there this morning. Carlos was getting out of control. I was about to call him on it when I took a careful look at one of them. There was a note pinned to it: 'Just a token of my love for you. If you wear this tonight I have something that matches it. Love, C.'

He was going to wear a matching outfit? So _not_ his style and I'd believe that when I saw it. I picked up the dress and looked at it closer. It wasn't exactly a dress, the back was attached but the top and bodice were separate pieces in the front. I just hoped my belly wasn't going to stick out. I tried it on and wow, it was perfect. Of course, knowing how much Carlos likes me in blue, it was a blue paisley on white with a touch of yellow and green thrown in for accent. It was a stunning _outfit_, for lack of a better word. I paired it with wedge sandals and went out to see what Carlos was wearing.

Surprise, surprise he was dressed in grey slacks with a white shirt, obviously _not_ matching me. He came over when he saw me and pulled me to him for a kiss.

"You look gorgeous, Babe."

"Where did this come from Carlos?"

"India, do you like it?"

"India?"

"I was on Biscayne Blvd and saw this in a window. The owner took pity on me when I couldn't figure out the Indian equivalent of your size. She also showed me this," he said handing me a box.

"What is it?"

"Open it."

I did. Inside was a gold necklace with blue stones hanging from it. Might be sapphires, might just be glass but it was gorgeous.

"This is beautiful Carlos. Thank you."

"She told me it's called Kundan. It's gold leaf over a hardened tree sap called lac. The stones are semi-precious. I doubt they are sapphires. I thought it was unique and beautiful, like you."

"It's gorgeous. Thank you, " I said again.

He took the necklace from my hand, lifted my hair and put it around my neck.

"I thought it would look good with the dress. Take a look Babe," Carlos said taking my hand and leading me to the mirror in the foyer.

"It's very pretty but you have to stop buying me things."

"Why? It gives me pleasure and I enjoy seeing you in nice things."

More like he envisioned taking them off of me.

"Are you ready to go Babe?" he asked taking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"It's called Casa Tua. We have a table in the garden. I think you'll like it, it's very pretty and considered the most beautiful restaurant in Miami."

"I thought we went to the most beautiful place for lunch? Does this beat Juvio's?"

"Juvio's has the best views; this is the most beautiful _place_ and I took the liberty of pre-ordering for us. I hope you don't mind."

"What did you order me?"

"I ordered us a tasting of different things. I'm hoping to broaden your horizons."

Oh boy, I've heard that one before.

Fortunately for me, Carlos' phone rang just at that moment so I didn't have to come up with a good retort.

"Tell me this again Hal," I heard him say. "My sister did what?"

Carlos put his phone on speaker so I could hear.

"Lauren just activated her panic button. We're getting a live audio feed from the house. Looks like she may have an unwanted guest. Want me to patch you in?"

"Yes. Where's Brett and my niece?"

"Brett's in Newark with Erik. They're checking out a break in. Avery should be with Lauren. Ok, you should be able to hear now, switch your audio over to Trenton."

"Babe, let's go to my office."

Carlos half ran and I followed a few steps behind. He pressed a couple of buttons and then we heard Lauren's voice, "What do you want from me?"

A heavily-accented voice replied, "I want Tank Sherman. You and the kid are my bargaining tools."

Shit.

"I'm a nobody. They're not going to trade me for Tank," we heard Lauren say, trying to reason with the intruder and probably hoping to buy some time.

"Do we have someone on the way?" Carlos asked Hal.

"Yeah but we don't want to walk into a trap. I'm trying to use her security cameras to scan for lookouts. I also notified TPD but we should get there first; I didn't call them until now."

"Good," he replied to Hal. "How did someone get past the alarm system?"

"It doesn't look like it's functioning yet. Brett was putting it in during his spare time. Don't get angry with him. Lauren's trained, she won't panic."

"Lauren's trained?" I asked.

"She made fencing nationals in college; it's not _our_ training but she's good with sharp objects."

"Don't joke at a time like this."

"I'm not joking. If she can get to one of the sabers on her wall he's a dead man."

I remembered seeing her and Brett fence at our house. She was light on her feet and tricky. She beat Brett more often than not.

The Spanish accented man must have been close to Lauren's panic button as he came in loud and clear over Avery's fussing, "Can you shut it up? If you can't get it to stop crying, I'm going to kill it."

"That's my daughter, she's not an 'it' and if you'd let me hold her she wouldn't be crying."

"Stay where you are. Oh fuck," he said, his last words garbled.

"Can you see anything Hal? What's going on?"

"The security cameras are aimed outside. Give me a minute to turn one around. Wait Lauren's calling us. 'Rangeman. Hal here.'"

"Hal it's Lauren. I'm pretty sure I just killed a man. Can you call the police and then get Brett to come home?"

"Rangeman is outside, we're still trying to ascertain if your intruder had a lookout. If so we need to take them out before we try to enter. Where did you stab him?"

"Through the heart. He was gurgling and now he's not, so I'm pretty sure he's dead."

"Are you ok? Is Avery ok?"

"We're fine, but this man is losing all his fluids. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Lauren. Lauren, listen. There were two men on lookout outside. José and Emmanuel got them. They're waiting for backup. Someone will get to you momentarily. Hang in there Lauren, please."

There was no reply. I had a feeling Lauren was praying to the porcelain gods at the moment. I understood that feeling entirely; the couple of times I've had to kill someone I felt the same way.

"Hal, I think she's probably throwing up," I said. "Maybe the guys can take her and Avery to Ella until Brett gets back. I don't think she should stay in the house by herself. TPD can visit her at Rangeman if they need to talk with her. And we have the recordings to prove it was self-defense so they'll want to visit us anyway."

_**Lauren's POV**_

We'd just come back from Avery's first doctor's appointment and I was about to put my key in the lock when the knob moved by itself. I activated the panic button I always carry and went inside to see if anyone broke in while we were out. Our foyer opens into our living room and there sitting on the couch was a Latino man with long braids and tats all over his neck and arms. He was pointing a gun at me.

He got up and motioned for me to put Avery down on one of the chairs. My sabres were on the wall to the left of me. I was pretty sure he assumed they were just for decorative purposes so after putting Avery into a chair, which I didn't feel good about because she could roll off, I made a few minute moves towards the sabres. I knew they would come off the wall easily as Brett and I had a practice bout last night.

Thankfully my intruder was too dumb to realize what I was doing.

It was when he threatened to kill my daughter that I went into full protective-mother mode. I challenged him and then when he glanced over at Avery I grabbed the sabre, pivoted and plunged it into his chest.

I had really hoped my panic button was in working order but since I didn't see any Rangemen barge in, I was afraid it wasn't. I picked up the phone and called their main number. I was glad it was Hal that answered as his very soothing voice calmed me down immediately.

He told me they had audio of the whole thing and thanked me for hitting the panic button before walking into what could be an unsafe situation. He also told me he had my brother on another line and was trying to get in touch with Brett. When he offered Ella, I immediately agreed. Ella was so calm and patient and I'd bet anything she had fresh-baked cookies or bread in her apartment. Ella liked to bake.

I looked over at the body lying on my floor one more time and I felt the wave of nausea come over me. I grabbed Avery and put her in her crib on my way to the bathroom.

That's where Manny and Ramon found me fifteen minutes later.


	14. Chapter 14—Broadening Horizons

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to **Margaret **once again for reading ahead and pointing out my typos. Thank you Maragret :)

Food warning! Please don't read on an empty stomach :)** Slight smut warning :)**

Chapter 14—Broadening Horizons

_**Stephanie's POV**_

Once everything was under control, the threat at Lauren's eliminated and Lauren and Avery on their way to Ella, Carlos asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner. As it was now 8:15, I doubted our reservations were being held but I nodded yes to him. I was starving at this point. He picked up his phone and spoke in a foreign language to whoever it was that answered. I was pretty sure he was speaking Italian.

"We're good Babe, they're holding our table for us. And as long as we get there in the next fifteen minutes they won't give it away."

I grabbed my purse, Carlos grabbed a jacket, most likely to hide the gun, and we headed down to the garage. After he made sure I was buckled in and thoroughly kissed, his back blocking the camera's view this time, we headed out to dinner.

You know the car karma that Rangeman has, right? Well, somehow it was still in effect in Miami and we got a spot right in front, probably much to the disappointment of the valet who was eyeing the Mercedes like it was candy. I noticed the dirty look he gave us as Carlos fobbed the car to lock it and we walked towards the restaurant with our arms around each other.

Carlos spoke in Italian to the maitre d' and we were immediately shown to our table in the garden. The garden was lush and absolutely beautiful with hanging lanterns and orchids everywhere but I could see that Carlos was not his usual self. I figured he was worried about his sister. I knew how much he'd be worried about me given similar circumstances, so I prodded him.

"Call her Carlos. She wants to hear from you. She wants your praise. Lauren is a lot like me. Strong on the outside, easy to crumble on the inside. I'm not going anywhere so go outside and let her know you care."

It was more than a hint and he took it well.

"You sure you're ok for a few minutes?"

"Carlos, this is your sister and some freaking Latin King just tried to kidnap her and kill her baby. Call her."

"I'll be back in a few. I ordered wine, don't wait for me."

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

The waiter came over with a bottle of red. He opened the metal casing and uncorked the bottle, pouring a little into my glass for me to taste. I brought the glass to my lips, took a small sip and nodded that it was good. Then he poured a glass for each of us and I took another sip. Drinking wine by myself wasn't something I wanted to do right now, especially since I had a feeling Carlos was not in a good place. So instead of sitting there waiting, I got up and walked towards the door; Carlos would be somewhere in the vicinity. I saw him outside. He was on his phone gesturing and pacing. That was something I would do, not him, so I walked over.

Thankfully I didn't surprise him.

"Babe, I'm talking to Bobby. Lauren and Avery are safe and sleeping in Ella's spare room. The body was sent to the morgue; it turned out to be Antonio Fernandez. My sister killed an Inca. Her and Brett are going to have to leave the country for a bit until we know what, if any, repercussions will come from this. I want to place a call to Sotolongo but I can do that tonight and we were just discussing whether it would be safe for Hector and Raphael to meet with Tater again. Bobby thinks the LKNs weren't too happy with Fernandez' leadership anyway but until we get on the inside we can't be sure."

"Do the Kings know that Lauren is your sister?"

"I doubt it; I think Fernandez just got their address from the intranet. Brett posted it along with pictures of the house and his very pregnant wife the day they moved in. My feeling is that Fernandez made the assumption that she'd be home and was going to do just what he said — try to trade her for Tank. I was just hanging up here so let's go back inside and try to enjoy the evening."

"Ok. And hi Bobby," I called into Carlos's phone.

"Hey Bomber. Take good care of him tonight, ok?"

"Will do. Did Carlos tell you we're going to Siesta Key for a few days? Or do you think we should head back to Trenton?"

"Take a few days off. I'm good; Lester's here and we can always send a plane for Hector if we need him. You guys deserve a break and I'll see you when you get back."

Carlos hung up with Bobby and we walked back into the restaurant's garden together. When we got to our table both of our napkins had been refolded. It made me giggle, who'd want to refold a used napkin? We both sat down and unfolded them before I asked the question that was on my mind since I heard who Lauren's intruder was.

"So does this mean Tank and Lula can come home and Maria can go back to her apartment?"

"Until we know what the tenor is like within the ALKN everyone stays where they are. I told Bobby that Brett, Lauren and Avery can stay in our apartment until Hal makes them new passports; then they are on their way to the property we have in Greece. I'd rather all concerned parties be safe until we figure out if there is still a threat against them."

I learned that lesson the hard way with the Slayers, so I nodded that I understood. I was about to ask another question when our waiter appeared and put two dishes down in front of us. I looked at Carlos skeptically.

"Artichoke salad with shaved parmesean and truffle dressing," he said pointing to one, "and burrata with tomatoes and basil," he added pointing to the other.

Everything looked as beautiful as the place itself. Sophisticated, elegant and romantic.

The waiter divided up and plated the two appetizers for us. Oh my God. OH MY GOD. It was this amazing sensation of tastes and textures. It was like the best mozzarella I've ever had on the outside, but inside was soft and fluffy. I had to know what this stuff was.

"Carlos, what is this?"

"Burrata Babe."

"Yes, but what is it?"

"Do you like it?"

"Oh my God, I love it. I could have this every day of the week and never get tired of it. What's inside?"

"The outer, hollow pouch is similar to mozzarella…"

"Yeah I thought so, but inside?"

"And the inside is a combination of cream and mozzarella curd. The cream is what makes it so pillowy. I understand it's imported from Puglia. Why don't you try the artichoke salad too Babe. I think you'll like it."

"I have to finish this first, oh my God," I moaned once again, causing a few heads to turn.

When I finished my burrata I took a bite of the artichoke salad. Now I'm not a big artichoke fan, but these were fabulous. Not inedible at all and the truffle dressing took it to a whole other place. I'd just decided that when we got back I was going to find truffle oil somewhere when something else in the salad caught my taste buds. It was something I couldn't put my finger on; it tasted a bit like seasoned ham but then again not.

"What is this Carlos?" I asked taking a small piece on my fork.

"It's speck, a cured meat."

"Go on."

"Boned ham is rubbed with a mixture of salt and spices and allowed to cure before it is cold smoked over ash and then air dried. It takes several months to produce. I believe this one originated in Northern Italy but Germany makes a similar product."

"I like it."

"I was hoping you would. I told you tonight was about broadening your horizons."

"So what else are we having?"

"I thought we would split a primi piatta, a pasta, and a secondi piatti. I took the liberty of ordering an eggplant gnocchi with roasted tomatoes, olives and capers which should be coming out next."

"And then?"

"Enjoy your gnocchi first."

And enjoy I did. Perfect little hand-rolled gnocchis with sauteed eggplant and roasted tomatoes simmered with olives and capers. I'd remembered my grandma Plum making gnocchi, but hers tasted nothing like these. These were light and fabulous. And I guess I moaned again because Carlos laughed at me, took my hand and whispered that I had at least six sets of eyes on me.

What was I supposed to do? Pretend I wasn't enjoying my food?

The gnocchi out of the way, I wondered what Carlos had ordered for our main. I didn't have to wait too long as our waiter came over with a whole branzino. Yep head, tail and all. I was about to wonder how I'd be able to do this, as the idea of something looking up at me from my plate while I ate it never appealed to me. But after showing us our fish, our waiter expertly filleted and deboned it for us putting it on plates along with the organic cherry tomato sauce, Taggiasca olives, roasted artichokes and asparagus. I only knew this because the waiter explained each addition as he added it.

He poured us some more wine and after a sip to clear my palate, I took a bite. I knew I let out another moan before I even noticed the eyes on me. Carlos was laughing and probably everyone on the four tables around us was staring at me.

"Really good," I muttered and went back for another bite. Yes my horizons had been broadened.

"Carlos if this is what Italy's like, can we take a vacation there next year?" I asked once I had finished my fish and every morsel that accompanied it.

"Babe." Whatever that meant at the moment.

I was about to give him the third degree when our waiter appeared again with dessert menus. No contest. I ordered the tiramisu and Carlos got the strawberry and mixed berry consomme with yogurt ice cream. I was pretty sure he'd only eat the berries so I was looking forward to having his ice cream after my tiramisu.

It was at this point that I kind of wondered what else he'd have in store for me. Broadening my horizons could mean a lot of things. I hoped it wasn't a threesome; I really didn't want to share my man with anyone — man or woman. But what was I thinking? He'd told me many times that he didn't share, so I guessed I was off the hook in that respect. Right?

"Babe? Deep thoughts?"

"I'm sorry Carlos, I was just wondering what other horizons you had in mind for me tonight. I mean…"

"I thought we'd stay for dancing. And if there was a room available we could spend the night here. Staying the night was an afterthought, I didn't check availability."

"Just us?" I asked anyway.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that. I didn't invite anyone else."

Whew. "Just checking."

Carlos called our waiter over and asked about hotel availability. There were fifteen suites upstairs and he wasn't sure if they were fully booked. He went back to the desk to check. He came back seconds later.

"Your lucky day, we had a last minute cancellation. One of the suites is open."

Carlos looked over at me. Would I rather share our apartment with Hector or would we rather be alone were his unsaid thoughts. It was a no brainer. I nodded for him to take it although I knew we were pretty loud. Well, I was anyway. Hoped the place was soundproof.

Carlos handed the waiter his black Amex card. Nothing more needed to be said it had no limit. Obviously he was good for anything. Our bill had been paid and so had our night at the small hotel upstairs. Carlos pulled me into his arms, kissed me like he loved me and led me to the dance floor.

Now I'm much more of a rock, pop, hip hop kind of person but the forties music being played was perfect for cheek-to-cheek dancing. Except we weren't cheek to cheek; Carlos was staring into my eyes.

"Let's get married Babe."

Well duh, isn't that what an engagement is supposed to lead to? I just looked at him, ESPing that thought.

"I mean now; this summer. If we start planning we can have an August wedding at the house."

So that's what was on his mind. Ah, two could play at this game. "And if we don't care about giving people over a month's notice we can have a June wedding."

"We need to be fair to Ella Babe; she's offered to do the catering."

"She has? And you're just telling me this now?"

"She only just offered."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"I don't joke about these things."

"How about July? Mary Lou and her family always go away in August and I'd really like her to be there, even if we don't have a traditional wedding."

"July seems tight but I guess it's doable; we need to talk to Ella."

"Now?"

"If you'd like, but you never answered me. Set a date? Get married?"

"Yes. I'd be very happy to marry you."

His lips came crashing down on mine and his hands cupped my ass as he kissed me. I hoped no one was watching our public display of affection. But I didn't have to worry for too long. "Let's go upstairs Babe," he whispered suggestively next to my ear as the song, and our kiss, came to an end.

We'd already paid for dinner and the room, so I grabbed my purse from the table where I left it and followed Carlos to the front desk to get our key.

Our room was on the second floor so we took the elevator up. Thankfully it was at the end of the hall, so we only had neighbors to one side. It was a pretty room with a canopied bed, a small sitting area, marble bath with double sinks, jacuzzi and shower. There were fresh flowers in a basket sitting on the bed and an orchid plant on the credenza. I guess they continued the theme from downstairs. Although it wasn't as large as some of the places we've stayed in, it was lovely. I only had a few seconds to take it in before Carlos' arms were around me and I was sandwiched between him and the foyer wall.

"I've been wanting to take this off you all evening," he said, unbuttoning the top part of the 'dress' so he'd have access to my body. He kissed my lips, my neck and began to kiss his way down my body when he got frustrated with the separate top and bottom of the outfit. I took pity on him and helped him with the buttons on the skirt half. When the outfit slid to the floor, he stood back, eyes dilated black and looked at me in my tiny white satin bra and panties.

"You are so beautiful Babe. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

I wouldn't say that, that designation probably went to Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry's husband, but I was certainly the luckiest _woman _in the world.

"Hmmm, take this off Carlos," I gestured towards his belt buckle so he'd get the idea that I wanted him naked.

I don't know how he did it, but he was able to get his pants and shirt off (well I helped with the shirt) _while_ he removed my bra. Carlos was naked and I just had little panties on as he carried me to the bed.

I had put two of the world's tiniest hair clips into my hair to hold back those curls in the front that always escape. Of course Carlos found the clips and hmmm, what can I say...he repurposed them. One moment he was licking my nipple and the next I felt a clamp over it. It hurt, but not too badly.

"You ok Babe?"

I nodded yes and he left it on.

He licked and kissed his way down my body before coming back up, removing the second clip and after thoroughly teasing my other nipple into a hard pebble, clamped it. It stung, but I was so turned on. Oh my God.

"Carlos, I want you right now," I practically screamed at him.

He reached between my legs and I guessed I was soaked. The look on his face was priceless and his penis acted in kind; I'd never seen him that hard. He removed my panties and tried to finger me but I couldn't wait for that; I pushed him onto his back and jumped on top of him. I came as soon as his penis entered me. Oh my God. And as soon as that orgasm ended I became aware of the clamping on my nipples and it set me off again. Carlos had this great big grin on his face and I was like an orgasm machine. One after another, after another. Oh my God, we were both SO turned on. He somehow pumped into me through my constant arching and we came together one final time.

By now my nipples were super sensitive and beginning to hurt. Carlos lovingly removed the clips before treating my poor abused nipples to a nice licking and a gentle massage. And oh, I guess I broadened _another_ horizon.


	15. Chapter 15—Things that go bump in the ni

If you recognize them, I can't take the credit. :) And a big thanks to **Margaret **once again for reading ahead and pointing out my typos. Thank you Maragret :)

And thank you all who read and reviewed last chapter. It's hard for me to send individual thank yous during the week (I sold in a huge campaign and will be shooting 20+ videos over the summer plus a kick-ass interactive experience), but I promise to get on it tomorrow. I hope you know I cherish each and every one; it's what keeps me going.

Chapter 15—Things that go bump in the night

_**Ranger's POV**_

Once Steph fell asleep, I got up and got to work. First I called Lolo Sotolongo, the Newark head of the Marielitos, the Cuban gang aligned with the ALKNs. We'd had some conversations recently so I knew he'd level with me.

"Mañoso," he answered obviously having my cell on his list of contacts, "I figured I'd hear from you tonight. Was it really one of _your_ men that killed 'Nandez?"

More like my sister, but I wasn't giving her up. "'Nandez broke into the house of one of my men looking to trade his wife for Tank. It didn't work out the way he planned."

"Word is one of your _men_ stabbed him."

"The _wife_ of one of my men put a saber through his heart. He threatened her and her child. What's the mood within the LKN?

"You have two of their men in custody. They make it out alive, you stand a chance."

"I have no beef with them, they were just doing their job. A couple of my men are talking to them now; as long as they are not going to turn around and declare war on Rangeman, they're free to go. We didn't kill their boss."

"That's not what's going around...so I suppose you want me to spread the truth?"

"Yes. What do you need from me to make that happen?"

"About fifty untraceables to start."

"So you can use them against us. I don't think so."

"You can get them to us after I fix this then. Some ops have been aggressing us. It's war season and we don't need Newark PD fingering us any more than they already are. The untraceables would come in handy."

"Ten is all I have..."

"I know you can get more. Twenty."

As much as I didn't want to be the one supplying them with illegal firepower, they'd get their hands on some anyway. It was the least I could do to make a pact that would allow Tank and Lauren and Brett to come home.

"Ten is all I can get without jeopardizing my sources."

"Ok, ten. I'll talk to Moreno and get back to you."

Tater Moreno is currently the second crown, Fernandez' right hand man, much like Tank is to me. At this point people are probably taking bets as to whether he will become the next Inca. He's trustworthy but not as bright as Pedro Vasquez, the current Warlord. Thanks to Hector and Raphael we have an agreement of sorts with both of these key players. They know we are not interested in their turf wars and do not take sides but if they need some information that we have, we don't mind sharing. It's helped us co-exist in the past and most likely will continue to in the future.

I also had ten to twelve untraceable guns in my personal gun safe in Belmar. Key people in government knew I had them and why. I'd hand them over and slowly build my arsenal again. It was always prudent to keep a few untraceable weapons around.

_**Hector's POV**_

I'd just gotten off the phone with Bobby, he was checking up on my _cut_ and at the same time taking my temperature as to whether or not I'd be comfortable in the repeat role of mediator between Rangeman and the Newark ALKN faction. Raphael and I had just been through this and look where that got me? And of course you know I'd do it again. It just meant heading back to Trenton a couple of days early and not being able to spend Friday with Argo. But this was my job and that came first. Bobby was arranging a NetJets flight for me out of MIA day after tomorrow; maybe Argo would be called in as one of the pilots although I was pretty sure no one but Steph, possibly Ranger, knew we were dating and I hoped to keep it that way.

Steph and Ranger hadn't come back from dinner yet. Not that I'm a mother hen or anything but it was after eleven. I supposed they could have gone to an after hours club, but knowing Estefania's alcohol limit I assumed they'd made other arrangements for the night. I took the opportunity of a quiet house to hack into the FBIs database. I wanted to see for myself what, if anything, they had on Tater Moreno and Pedro Vasquez. Last I looked it took 28 calendar days to get a legal Identity History Summary from the feds; it was faster my way. And actually their database held a lot of information.

Both bangers had been incarcerated, no shit, and both were tops on the FBI's list of 'go to suspects' for any crime in the Newark area. Another interesting nugget — neither of them had ever held a legitimate job, although it said Vasquez had an IQ of around 160. I'd have to look that up, but I was pretty sure that bordered on genius. No matter what, I would not underestimate that man and he would be my pick for the next Inca. Tater was good for thinking on his feet but Pedro was a fucking Einstein.

I read down further and there was some additional background on Vasquez. He'd graduated from high school and enrolled in college all while becoming more and more immersed in his banger lifestyle. Between the ages of 17 and 20 he'd killed 15 people becoming by law enforcements definition, a serial killer. Yet his double life remained unknown to his mother, whose home he was still living in until he was 'given up' by an anonymous tip. He was convicted of killing a rival gang member and sent to the Auburn Correctional Facility in upstate New York. It was there that he unremorsefully told a psychologist about the 14 other killings he was never fingered for. During his time behind bars he also took advantage of a Pell grant and applied to Cornell's Prison Education Program where he graduated with a 4.0 in psychology and business.

A Cornell graduate? Yep, I'd be very afraid of this man...and he was someone we'd need in our court.

I screen-snapped the page and emailed it to Raphael before covering up my electronic footprint and shutting down for the night. I'd snoop around some more another time.

I took out my phone and texted Estefania.

HECTOR: 'I hope you're someplace safe. Text me back and let me know you're ok when you have a chance.'

I figured the chances of hearing from her tonight were slim but she had me a little worried. She always seemed to attract the wrong kind of attention. I knew Ranger was with her, but what can I say, I worry.

_**Ranger's POV**_

I heard the ding of a new text message and checked my phone. It wasn't mine. Steph's phone was sitting out on the dresser and when it dinged again, I glanced over. I would never snoop into her business but text messages aren't exactly password protected and it was sitting open on her phone, so I glanced at it. It was from Hector; he was worried about her.

That brought a smile to my face. If she only knew the Hector I did she'd probably find his worry amusing too. He was a heartless killer; a master with a garrote, a man with unrivaled knife and stars skills and before I brought him on board he was just steps away from a probable prison sentence. I knew about his hacking abilities and grew to appreciate his technological genius, but the man I hired was a banger with anger issues. And he was worried about my woman.

I picked up my phone and sent him a quick text.

MANOSO: 'Go to sleep. She's safe, she's with me'

HECTOR: 'Thank U. Where R U?'

MANOSO: 'Casa Tua. We stayed over. Steph's sleeping'

HECTOR: 'And UR working?'

MANOSO: 'Yeah, spoke to Sotolongo. He wants untraceables'

HECTOR: 'He'll work with us?'

MANOSO: 'Yeah.'

HECTOR: 'I got something 2 :) From the FBI, I'll email it to U'

MANOSO: 'Send it to Bobby as well. Steph and I are going to Siesta Key for a few days. The place is yours'

HECTOR: 'Thank U but I'm heading back to Trenton day after tomorrow. Raphael and I need to talk to Tater and Vasquez'

MANOSO: 'Be careful'

HECTOR: 'Check the email I just sent you. Vasquez has an IQ of 160, he's capable of anything'

So did Hector. We run IQ tests on all the men when we onboard them and that was one of the things that stood out with him. He was brilliant and unstoppable. And if Vasquez truly had an IQ up there too, I wondered what it would take to hire him for Rangeman? As soon as I thought it, I knew that wasn't a good idea. It would put too many eyes on my company and we had a pretty solid reputation at the moment; but the thought was tempting. And I could only imagine what the two of them could come up with if they ever joined forces.

"Carlos?" I heard from the bed, "what are you doing?"

"I was just checking emails and doing some work, go back to sleep. I'll be in in a few minutes."

"You were mumbling something about Hector's IQ."

"Go back to sleep, I'll tell you in the morning."

"Ok but it's cold in the bed without you."

"I'll turn down the AC, go back to sleep and I'll be in soon."

"K."

I hoped she wouldn't remember my mumbling about Hector's IQ. Even Hector doesn't know how high it is; we don't share those details with the men, it only makes for a big head.

I got up and raised the temperature in the room. Steph smiled at me and then I saw her close her eyes. She'd be back to sleep in a few minutes and I really needed to do some more research before I went to bed.

I read the email that Hector sent. I didn't know Vasquez graduated from Cornell with a 4.0 grade average. Maybe Hector would like to go to a prestigious school too? I knew he'd taken a lot of technology courses, he read constantly and aced his English as a second language class but I was pretty sure his impressive IQ could get him into Princeton at night with a letter from us. I wondered what he'd say if we broached that subject with him and lessened his load so he'd be able to study. I knew chances were good he wouldn't want his load lessened even if he'd been thinking of finally finishing school at some point.

I guessed I was tired after all since I didn't get any further than the email he sent before going off on a lot of 'what ifs', so I closed down my computer, stripped and joined Stephanie in the bed.

I tossed and turned for the next 30 minutes before I gave up on sleep and got up to see if the hotel had a gym. I put on shorts and sneakers, took a card key, my phone and another pair of shorts and headed out. I went down to the main desk and was pointed in the direction of the gym. Chances were good I'd have it all to myself too; it was almost 2 am.

I was wrong, there was one other maniac in there pounding away on a treadmill. I nodded to him while I stretched out, then got on the only other treadmill, which was situated right next to him.

I started out at a light run and then increased my speed to match his. We were both running a 6-minute mile and it felt good to have someone to keep pace with. We were still going strong an hour later when he raised his hand and pointed to the cool down button to let me know he was done. I could have kept going but he intrigued me. Not a lot of people could keep up the 6-minute-mile pace for over an hour, so I hit my cool down button as well. At least we could talk now.

"Jason Williams," he said extending his hand. "I'm impressed."

"Carlos Manoso," I said, "and ditto."

"Firefighter," he said, "couldn't sleep."

"Ex-Army Ranger. Me neither."

"Wait. I just made the connection. Rangeman?"

"Yes?"

"I'm interviewing with Ernesto tomorrow. I've been on the waiting list for six months."

"Well as you guessed, Rangeman is my company. I'd say stop by after your interview but I'll be in Siesta Key for a few days. I can put in a good word for you though, not too many people can keep that pace for over an hour."

"I started maybe five minutes before you and, well not to toot my own horn but I'm used to this. We train rigorously. Got to keep in shape or someone might get killed. Possibly you."

"So what makes you want to join Rangeman?"

"It's been my goal for a while. I'm ex-military too, thought it'd be a good fit."

"You here by yourself?"

"No, my wife is with me. Yes I know most of the men in the organization are single, it's a lifestyle thing but Tasha's used to it. Fires aren't nine-to-five and we rotate days at the firehouse as it is."

"Well if you're staying in a hotel for an interview you must be from out of town; may I ask where?"

"Sorry. This is also my honeymoon. I could never afford to stay in a place this expensive if I didn't want to give my wife some memories. We're from Austin. Well she's from Austin; I'm from Panama, Germany, North Carolina. Army brat, moved around a lot."

"So you're looking for something stable. You want to stay in one place for a while."

"Bingo."

I liked him. I'd text Ernesto as soon as I got back upstairs. Not that I really had any say in the hiring for the Miami office, but Ernesto had been with me from the beginning and he'd at least give it a little extra thought.

We were both done with our cool down at this point and we headed over to the showers together.

"I was actually hoping for an opening in your Trenton office since my wife has family nearby," he said over the roar of the running water.

Oh? Hmmm. I thought we had an opening…two in fact.

"What's your specialty? What were you hoping to come in as?"

"I'll do anything. I expected to start on the street checking out alarms, but my background is in tech. Yeah, I know you're wondering with an in-demand tech background how I ended up with the fire department. Simple, tech jobs are highly competitive and don't pay as well in Austin as they do in Dallas and Houston. And if we were going to leave the city we wanted the east coast."

He sounded like someone Hector might want to meet and Hector was in Miami for the next day and a half. I might be able to arrange something.

"I can't promise anything, but I'd like you to meet our technology director. His name is Hector Santiago and I can try to get you in to see him after your interview with Ernesto. He happens to be in Miami right now although he runs his operation out of Trenton. And if I know him he's still awake, I'll text him after we dry off. What time is your appointment?"

"Eleven."

I grabbed the other shorts I'd brought down with me and while I toweled off and got dressed I texted Hector.

Two minutes later I got a reply, 'I'd like to meet him'


End file.
